Miscellaneous

Admittedly, we’ve had a lot of rain over the last few days here in the Kansas City area. And, to be honest, I didn’t think I’d be able to get in a ride at all this weekend. So, when I checked the trail status and it said WYCO was a go, I loaded up the bike and gear and headed out.

My goal was simple. Just make it out alive. LOL! Seriously though, I just wanted to have some fun and unwind for a few.

During the time I was riding, I was thinking about something that was said to me, I think, last week. And the topic was…

Drum roll please…

BALANCE

He was talking about the need of having balance in life. And, as always, this got me thinking.

Riding a bike takes a great deal of balance. Something I have yet to master!

Okay… side note before I forget. I had already passed the halfway point of the ride, so I packed up some of my gear, downed a bit of strawberry lemonade, and was in the process of making my way back to where I had started. The trail was a bit slick from a bit of rain the night previous. The rocks and tree roots? Well, let’s just say they get greasy when your tires are wet. Okay, so I was trying to climb a little hill and my rear tire got hung up on a rock and all forward momentum had ceased to exist. At this point, everything started to move in slow motion. Heck, I couldn’t even get my feet off the pedals to catch myself. The next thing I know, as I’m making my way to the ground all the while, literally, laughing out loud, all I could think was how I had WISHED the camera was on so I could show my epic fail to everyone. All I could do was laugh! 

Now, where were we?

Riding a bike takes a great deal of balance. And, obviously, I still have yet to master it.

Life, also, needs balance. You need to be balanced in your work, your play, your family life, and even spiritually. You need to have balance in all of these areas in your life.

Will there be balance 100% of the time in 100% of these areas and more? No, not at all. It takes effort.

Sure, it’s easy to give up when things get hard. Trust me, on a bike, it’s easy to stop, get off, and walk around an obstacle. But, in life, that’s not how any of this works.

You’re gonna have bad days. And, you’ll certainly have good days. But, if you want to try and minimize the bad days, as well as some of the days in between… you’re gonna need some balance.

Make the effort to find some level of balance in your life right now. It won’t take much to get started. What are you waiting for? Go find some balance!

We all tend to be a kid at heart, and for some of us, we will never grow up. Yeah, sure, I’m speaking of myself here. But, with a recent mountain bike ride, I learned a few things.

I feel like I need to give you some of the back story.

This ride was a few weeks in the making. The first week, I loaded up the bike and made my way to a local trail. It’s pretty close to the house and it’s a beginner type trail. So it was gonna be the one I wanted to start with. What happened? I got there and the gate to the trail was closed. It rained pretty good a few days earlier, so I accepted defeat and stayed on the paved trail. Still, it was a good ride.

Fast forward a week, and I thought to myself that this was definitely gonna be the day I can finally hit some trails. What happened this time? Rain. Again. For two days it rained a few inches, but I thought I was still gonna be able to get it done as it was warm and sunny for the two days leading up to the day. Yeah right! The bike gods were not in favor of me hitting the trails.

I was beginning to think they didn’t want me on a trail ever and that they only wanted me to stick to the paved ones. But… I was pretty determined to prove them wrong.

That pretty much catches us up.

Now, leading up to this ride, I wanted to keep myself accountable so I wouldn’t chicken out or something. And, I checked the weather multiple times a day all week hoping I would be given the all clear. I also kept my eyes on a local twitter account that posts the status of each trail in the area. They had given the all clear. The weather gave an all clear. So, what could go wrong?

Nothing! This time… nothing.

I loaded up the bike and my gear and hit the road heading straight for the trails. On the way there, I got a call from a friend that said he was there waiting and couldn’t wait to hit the trails.

Everything was finally lined up!

We unloaded our bikes and geared up and quickly made our way to the trailhead.

I remember thinking to myself that this was finally happening. And, now that it was, my mind was free to think without distraction.

Except for the quickly approaching turns and rocks and trees.

As I was thinking, I realized that this was a learning moment. Here’s what I learned:

Have confidence!

I’ll admit, I’m not the most confident person I know. But one thing I learned while out on this ride is that I can. I can do things, but it comes with a bit of a caveat, and admittedly another lesson learned.

Just do!

You can be one of two people. The person sitting at home bing watching Netflix, or you can be that person that goes out and does stuff. Whatever it is, just go do it. It doesn’t always have to be something on a bucket list. It can be something as simple as bird watching. Whatever, without excuse, just go do it.

The last thing I learned is probably the most important thing. And that is: We are in our own race. 

My friend that I was riding with was worried he wouldn’t be able to keep up with me. Or that he would struggle with certain obstacles he might come across. I kept telling him the entire time that it was his ride, not to worry about me. It was his ride and that he didn’t have to keep up with me.

Too often I see people trying to “keep up with the Jones'”. That’s not how we should be at all. Each day that passes is an opportunity to be the best version of us that we can be. You can’t accomplish that at all if you’re trying to keep up with the person next to you.

In closing, remember: Have confidence in yourself in whatever you do, and whenever you do go and do, it’s your race and your race only. 

Oh, hey. Hello there. I know what you’re thinking, “Where the heck have you been lately?” Am I right? Well… it’s kind of complicated, but then again, it isn’t.

Let me explain. I’ve talked about it before, but in case you’re new to these parts, I have bouts of depression every so often. I don’t know why. Then again, I don’t think anyone who suffers from it really knows what exactly triggers an episode. And trust me when I say I wish I could just take a magic little red pill or something when I start to notice things aren’t right and make it all just go away. But, it’s not that easy!

So, it’s usually during these episodes that I do a LOT of thinking. And, when I say a lot of thinking, it’s usually ‘I could have done this, or I could have done that.’ I second guess myself more than I care to admit.

Okay, let’s get to the point! Why do I need your help?

I really wish to grow the show into something bigger. I want to grow this little website. But, I don’t want to take away from the experience that I’m trying to create.

You see, I want it to feel like home. Like we’re sitting around the dinner table. Or the sofa. I want us to all feel like we’re friends. And even more than that; like a family.

I want it to feel like a community got together to talk about issues and history and a myriad of other things. Okay, this is one of the areas I need help. I don’t know of an app or website ‘thing’ that we could all use to keep the conversation going when the show isn’t live. Sure, there’s twitter, facebook, gab and a host of other sites. But wouldn’t it be cool if there was something that kind of linked all of them together so that we could chat about things? That way someone from facebook who doesn’t twitter could still chat with someone. I think that would be really sweet!

What else do I need help with? Well, honestly, all of this stuff comes with a price tag attached to it. Now, I’m not asking you to shell out wads of cash. But, if you like what you see and read and experience, why not drop something in the bucket? You’ll notice there are no ads. Why? I hate them. I think it clogs up your experience and distracts you from what you really want to see.

Is that all? Nope. Why not share it with your friends and family? I know, yes, some of you already do. And, trust me, THANK YOU! You’re the reason I do all of this. Sure, I have fun and love doing it. But, how much more fun could we have if there were more people at the table with us?

Okay, okay. I’ve rambled on long enough. I’ll let you get back to your Netflix binge.

OH!!! Before I forget. I’ve got some pretty cool stuff coming out in the near future and the only way to know what any of it will be is if you subscribe to the newsletter.

I’m just sitting here thinking about how far things have come over the last few years. With the website. The podcast. The videos. All of it has come a long way.

And, it’s all because of you! Each one of you that visit the site or watch or listen to a show or video. It’s because you subscribed and/or shared something with your friends and family.

So, I just want to take this opportunity to thank you. For me, just saying thank you isn’t enough. I honestly wish I could thank each of you in person and express my sincere gratitude.

I know that day will likely not happen anytime soon, but, please know how much each of you means to me. It’s extremely humbling that you spend your time consuming the content we’re putting out.

Honestly… Thank You!

No matter how I think about it, I’m hitting a wall. I’m not happy about it and trust me, it’s not easy to say either. But, I’ve hit a wall and I don’t know exactly how to get through it, around it, or over it.

What am I trying to really say?

Excuses. I’ve dealt myself a laundry list of excuses.

I’ve said I don’t have time. I’ve said I don’t have the money to do it. I’ve said I don’t have anyone to help me.

Each and everything I’ve said was just an excuse. And, I’m here to say, I’ve tired of it.

So what am I going to do about it? Well… right now, I’m not entirely 100% sure. But, with the help of a few close friends who shall remain nameless offered up a few suggestions. Some of which will get implemented.

Here’s what we (they) came up with:

• start a private twitter group to stay better-connected
• start a private ‘Friends of’ Facebook group
• bring back the Facebook weekly show events
• start tagging people on Facebook and twitter for alerts
  • obviously, we would get their permission first
• start doing Facebook ads

Sooo, yeah, I’m still a little lost on what direction to go. What kind of thoughts or ideas do you have?

Seriously though, this is something I’ve struggled with for a loooong time.

I’m trying – at least I’ve always thought I was trying hard – to grow the show and those things that are connected to it. But, the things I’ve tried in the past didn’t feel like they were worth the effort. And maybe it’s because I was lacking a little vision. Nonetheless, I’ve got to do something.

Doing something and failing is better than not doing anything. Right?

My mission per say is three-fold: Engage – Educate – Entertain

So I’m coming to you! I ask you to engage with me and educate me on what you think may work.

What are you willing to change in order to grow?

It’s a question I’ve been thinking about since the start of the year. And, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to accept change, even embrace it, in order to really grow.

Maybe it’s because I’m at a point in my life where certain chapters are finally coming to a close while others begin.

Or, maybe it’s because I’m just not happy with some of the things most important in my life.

The key for me that will completely unlock growth? Change!

I have to change some things. Some more than others. But… change has to be present.

At the start of their first preseason football game with the Green Bay Packers, 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the national anthem.

His reason? “Oppression” of blacks and minorities in America.

In a statement to Pro Football Talk, the Niners team said:

“The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pregame ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose to participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”

Kaepernick doesn’t seem bothered at all by any backlash he may receive by saying:

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder. …

“This is not something that I am going to run by anybody. I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”

The photo that sparked the controversy?

Zoom-in of @jenniferleechan photo during national anthem that shows Colin Kaepernick sitting on the bench. #49ers pic.twitter.com/c6F10yIIRE

— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) August 27, 2016

Here are just a few reactions:

With Colin Kaepernick's intelligence and ability, if he was born in any other country, he would've starved to death in the streets by now.

— Victor Nikki (@hapkidobigdad) August 27, 2016

How can a football player make millions of $ in America, but can't honor the flag that gave him those millions? https://t.co/eK18aOUyjS

— Madeline Sierra (@pinkpetalz) August 27, 2016

Disrespectful. Be a part of the solution, not the problem. Use your 100M to make positive change, not further divide https://t.co/gmfRoNqb0C

— Kassy Dillon (@KassyDillon) August 27, 2016

@KassyDillon If it's bigger than football then why is @Kaepernick7 still playing? He should quit and join a movement .. oh wait $$$ hmmm

— Tom Stokes (@SportsPlusShow) August 27, 2016

Look how Mean & Unjust
America has been to Colin Kaepernick

If I owned that house I wouldn't stand either pic.twitter.com/WyCWMdfVJO

— Villi Wilson (@Conservative_VW) August 27, 2016

Excuse me for just a second while I get a little spiritual. And, if that’s just not your thing, I hope you’ll continue to read on, but if not, no big deal. However, I think this is something that’s extremely important to talk about.

Let me start out by saying I didn’t sleep well at all. I tossed and turned while there was a pretty intense thunderstorm getting it’s rage on. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue at all. Like most people, I enjoy sleeping through a good, hard rain. But this time felt different. Different in a sense because something that’s been in the back of my thoughts over the last few months started to make sense. And it was magnified as I began the day.

Being that I couldn’t sleep, I got up and hit the gym for a little workout. I was feeling pretty good by the end of the workout, so I got the crazy idea to hop on the treadmill for a few minutes. I normally don’t do that. I’d much rather be out on the bike getting some much needed fresh air. Thanks to the thunderstorm, well… that just wasn’t going to happen. So, I grabbed my laptop, propped it up on the treadmill and hit play on a devotional address I had been eager to watch earlier in the week.

As the video began playing, I made mention of the length and set a goal of running twenty minutes; a lofty goal for someone who normally struggles to hit the ten to fifteen-minute mark. Before I knew it, forty-eight minutes had passed, the video was done, and I was still going. I don’t know if it was divine intervention that kept me going, but my mind was racing faster than I was able to keep up with it.

The thought in the back of my mind that I had been struggling with for months was now starting to make sense. This was a topic that I had presented before on previous shows, but, I never seemed satisfied with the message that I had presented. Nonetheless, the Lord placed this message in front of me at just the right time that I needed, and at just the right time so that I could make sense of it and understand it.

It seems everywhere we turn these days, there are storms raging around, within, and at us. They are designed to defeat us at every turn. The storm I’m referring to is religion. In a nutshell, that’s it. The attack on religion is moving forward with precision, and at a pace that many are unable to keep up with.

Religion is everywhere! We just have to recognize it’s there. Or at least, was there. It’s found in literature, art, communities, even in the foundations of nations. Argue as much as you want, America wouldn’t be America if it weren’t for religion, and the opportunity to freely practice religion. It’s what separates America from all other nations.

Let’s take a look at some of the places religion once was. Starting with literature. In times of old, some aspect of religion was found in all types of literature. Sadly, today, literature is shunned if it points to religion and morality. It’s all about fantasy.

Art used to be a direct reflection of religion. Most works of art used to depict the history and times found in the bible and other religious texts. Today? It’s all about being expressive and abstract. A single red dot on a ten foot square canvas is now referred to as art.

In communities all across America, religion once held the community together. It bound one another together. It was a support vessel for the broken. Today? Communities are at odds with each other. They are divided, not united. Today, it’s all about the individual and their feelings, and only their feelings. It’s not about lifting up the person walking alone on the street, or the neighbor that found out their spouse has cancer. It’s not about that anymore. If someone is offended, they react and explode.

This creates a downward spiral within society. What once bound and tied us together, is now the very thing that people reject and shun. A complete removal of religion is exactly what we’ve been warned about in the past. We’ve been warned so many times over, one would think it to be something worth protecting. Yet, the very thought of talking religion shuts people off and turns them away.

We continue to be warned even today. I call the message prophetic as we continue to see the erosion of religion more and more each day that passes. (It doesn’t matter what religion or church you belong to, it is their goal to remove it and silence the thought and speaking of religion.)

One rather prophetic warning came in 1978, when Neal A. Maxwell said:

“We will see a maximum, if indirect, effort made to establish irreligion as the state religion. It is actually a new form of paganism which uses the carefully preserved and cultivated freedoms of western civilization to shrink freedom, even as it rejects the value essence of our rich Judeo-Christian heritage…

“This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religious convictions. Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive. Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened…

“There is occurring a discounting of religiously based opinions. There may even be a covert and subtle disqualification of some for certain offices in some situations, in an ironic irreligious test for office.”

Let those words sink in for a minute. Compare that warning with what we are seeing unravel right before our eyes!

Jeffrey R. Holland said in a devotional address:

“That forecast of turbulent religious weather issued nearly 40 years ago is steadily being fulfilled virtually every day somewhere in the world in the minimization of (or open hostility toward) religious practice, religious expression, and even in some cases the very idea of religious belief itself.”

In 2015, Bruce C. Hafen remarked:

“Democracy’s core values of civilized religion … are now under siege—partly because of violent criminals who claim to have religious motives, partly because the wellsprings of stable social norms once transmitted naturally by religion and marriage-based family life are being polluted[,] … and partly because the advocates of some causes today have marshalled enough political and financial capital to impose, by intimidation rather than by reason, their anti-religion strategy of might makes right.”

History – if you are a believer – shows us in the Bible that when people turned away from God, things wound up being corrected. The ship was righted per say. And, as you are aware, the Bible also tells us of a time when Christ will appear again and cleanse the world one final time.

You and I have an obligation to ourselves, one another, and to the Lord himself, to protect religion as well as its role and place in today’s society. We cannot sit idle and watch religion fall by the wayside. There are many things that are under siege, and to echo the words commonly attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer saying, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

I say these things, not because I’m a prophet, but as a warning. I recognize patterns, and one that I’ve seen over the past few months has been in reference to the 1978 quote referred to earlier about the idea of irreligion. There are storms on the horizon, and they are headed straight for us – if they aren’t already here now. I only hope that you aren’t oblivious to these storms and threats. I only hope that your house is in order. I only hope that you are willing to sacrifice in whatever manner you are asked to protect religion.

I’ll admit it is pretty difficult to live positive in a world so full of negatives.

It comes at you in so many directions!

You turn on the news; negative. You turn on the radio; negative. Facebook, twitter, and various other forms of social media; negative.

And, most of the time, logging on to social media throws even more at you. Aside from all the negative stuff, you get bombarded by things that are borderline pornographic.

It’s all so disgusting!

So… what can we do? Better yet, is there anything we really can do?

First and foremost, it has to start with you! You can’t sit in front of a computer screen, with smartphone in hand, and be a keyboard warrior.

Sure, you can flag media as offensive; you can even block the person. But, if you are genuine in your relationships, speak up and speak out.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

There are times where I would love to rant online and clear my mind. But, that’s not who I want to be. I don’t want to be that guy who always complains about every little thing that goes wrong. I’m more focused on the people and things around me.

A few years ago, I was attending a conference at church where someone made a very profound statement. They said, ‘Imagine the person you are looking at, or working with, is going through one of the toughest things they have ever had to deal with, and 10 times out of 10… You’ll be right.’

That statement really spoke to me!

We’ve all had those days, right? Well… I was not having that great of a day, but I noticed that a listener had posted something on social media that raised my eyebrows. I was really feeling for this friend, so I reached out to let them know I noticed.

I didn’t reach out because I wanted to feel better about my own problems. I reached out because I had some genuine concern for this friend.
What I’m trying to say is even though there is so much negativity all around us, there is just as much positive also.

If you are tired of seeing, and being a part of some of the negativity, then change your mindset for the positive.

Lose yourself in serving those around you. There is great joy in serving others.

Be someone’s positive in a negative world.

 

---

Don’t forget to listen to this week’s podcast! Check it out:

Stay alert and follow to know the moment the show is LIVE.

Follow @staffordvoice

It’s that time of year, where most people go out and brave the elements, only to wait countless minutes and hours in long lines to get just the right gift.

And, for a lot of people, they take advantage of incredible sales and non-holidays like black Friday and cyber Monday.

While that’s okay and all, I want to talk about something along the lines of gift-giving.

I was driving down the road, listening to the K-Love, and the guy on the radio was talking about a conversation he had with one of the guys from Big Daddy Weave, lead singer Mike Weaver.

Weaver was telling him about a recent time where he was out giving service by handing out little care packages or something for a men’s retreat; I think. At the time, they had just run out of shaving razors.

So, Mike ran around the corner to a nearby drug store to pick up some cheap razors. And, while he was standing there in the aisle reaching for a few packages of the cheapest razors on the shelf, it hit him.

He said that as he reached out, he remembered a scripture he had read many times over:

“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” – Matthew 25:40

When Weaver realized what was happening, he had a change of heart and instead, reached for a higher quality pack of razors. And did so knowing that he would want to give the best of the best to God, so why not give the same to one of His children.

That’s the principle behind this scripture!

What we do and give to others, it’s as if we are doing it to the Lord.

Are we going to give Him the cheapest thing on the shelf? Or, would we give Him the best?

Are we giving our best, or are we settling for less than the best?

So, it’s okay to seek out a good deal, but… if you can’t give the best… maybe you need to put it back and have a change of heart.

 

---

Don’t forget to listen to this week’s podcast! Check it out:

Stay alert and follow to know the moment the show is LIVE.

Follow @staffordvoice