Sleep When the Wind Blows

Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received A steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him.

"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk,? and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up!? A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.

To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured.? Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life?

The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.

We secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves in the Word of God. We don't need to understand, we just need to hold His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.

I hope you enjoy your day and you sleep well.

Rhythm of Nature

Okay....at the risk of sounding like I've totally snapped here goes:

Did you ever notice how many normal everyday events have rhythm or frequency? When you're stopped at a traffic light istening to the radio....do you notice the people crossing the street in front of you seem to walk with the beat of the song playing in your car? Weird, huh?

Birds flap their wings in rhythm, a cat has a built in pace when it walks or runs...otherwise it would trip over itself. The seasons have a cycle...or a frequency to them... all in sync with the climate. The rain blows through and the sun comes out... the daytime follows the nighttime. And so on...

What about your personal life? The human body has a frequency or rhythm. Any husband can attest to this dynamic! What about relationships? Ooooo... really getting spooky now, huh?

Who could deny a higher power with all this rhythm in our world. And more importantly....why is it that some people just...can't....dance?

Lighting Up

Recently I was at the Las Vegas Airport where there were many signs notifying the public of the fines associated with taking lighters and/or matches on the plane. Even checked baggage was to not have lighters, etc.

Big boxes were strategically placed in the security lane to allow those last minute smokers to dump their arson making materials before a hefty fine would be imposed...

The only trouble with all that was....

Once I got on the other side of security and made it all the way to my gate I noticed 2 smoking areas with dozens of people in there. I thought nothing of it...then it hit me. How could they light up?
Guess what? They had lighters! and matches!

Where did they get them? I shudder to think of the possibilities....

The Little Things

Listening. Smiling.

Holding. Loving. Sharing, caring and laughing.

Saying "thank you". Holding the door for someone. Allowing that car to cut in front of you and have that coveted parking place.

All of these things are free but mean a lot to those you come in contact with. Maybe we should live today and "pay it forward".

See what happens.

Friends

At the risk of sounding too sappy I must admit one thing: Thank God for real friends. We need them. Last year I spoke at several seminars across the country that dealt with health. My part was on the mind...or the spiritual side.

All day people heard about the physical issues and answers we face from time to time. When I spoke the atmosphere always changed a little. Start talking about emotional issues and watch what happens. People turn on and get riveted to any hope you may share about how to feel more accepted, more likable, and obviously more loved.

Friends are one avenue that do that for us. Sometime you just need to vent a little. Your friend who really could care less about your situation cares about YOU. So they endure the ramblings to allow you some quality time. Odds are they might need it next week.

Getting divorced after 23 years is quite a shock to the emotional part of your life. Friends have allowed me to vent, ask questions, and even get emotional about it all. Just like the human body needs touch...so does the human psyche need friendship.

Somehow it makes us all feel a little more acceptable in this world we live in.

Fear of Discovery

One thing that has struck me as intersting on this whole blog thing is how people respond. Those of you out there who have a blog know what I'm talking about. Many people cruise by but not many will actually respond on the site with a comment.

Why? Fear.

We have become so concerned with others viewpoints about us that we have become a society of politically correct humanoids. No one wants to go on record for fear they might be discovered for not agreeing with someone else. Then again maybe it's just fear that somehow a hacker will magically derive your social security number from your posting and clean out your bank account! Whatever the reason people are hesitant. It's okay with me though... I understand. Your opinion may cost you something.

Take me for instance. Stand up for what you believe and many won't stand with you. In fact...some stay away for good!

Gone in 60 Seconds

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that
wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will.

You will have your heart broken probably more than
once and it's harder every time.

You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken.

You'll fight with your best friend.

You'll blame a new love for things an old one did.

You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose
someone you love.

So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of
happiness you'll never get back.

DaVinci Code Round 2

Well, the movie is finally coming out in May with Tom Hanks and an all-star cast based on the best-seller by Dan Brown.

There was a lot of complaining and rumblings in the church when the book came out months ago. I was in several church services and never did hear convincing truth about the book or it's pretenses one way or the other. Now don't get me wrong. Much of the book is pure fiction with bits and pieces of facts thrown together with clever novelist writings. But not all of it bogus.

The fact is the church better get ready for another round. The church needs to be ready not only as to explain the book or its bogus claims but mainly to point people to Code Master of all time: Jesus Christ. Pastors, be ready for the harvest. They are coming to your doors in May.

Parking Places

This is an excerpt from one of my new books. I thought it seemed appropriate to include today in the blog.... Tell me what you think!
-Gene

Someone once wrote, “The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.” While most people tend to lose heart and surrender their dreams during life's horrible times, top performers learn these universal principles:

 You must discern the difference between temporary setbacks and permanent losses.
 Obstacles are there to strengthen you.
 Obstacles offer progressive measurements of your growing strength.

Difficulties actually accelerate your success, especially when you understand the value of opposition. Muscles never got stronger from inaction; much to the contrary, unused brawn tends to atrophy.

One of the most amazing stories of sheer courage in the face of tremendous odds is that of Nancy Merkl. Stricken with polio at ten, she was condemned to wear heavy braces and later crutches. Yet in four years, she became a swimming champion who, when asked by Franklin Roosevelt how she overcame such odds, said, “I just kept trying, Mister President!”
Her parents had taken her to a man named Jack Cody, swimming coach at an athletic club in Portland, Oregon. It took a year to teach her to swim the length of the pool. But she was determined. Finally, the coach realized that this young girl was not only interested in swimming as a mean of restoring her health and the use of her limbs, she also wanted to be a champion.
Four years from the time she was stricken with paralysis, she came in third at a meet in Santa Barbara, California. At the age of nineteen, she changed her style of swimming and emerged as the national champion.
Nancy Merkl kept on trying. So can you!

Old Cars

I borrowed an old classic car today to drive for a few hours. It was great..nothing like a car made from real metal and cloth. Not a sign of plastic anywhere.

I had to stop and put air in the tires since it had not been driven in so long. As I was wrapping it all up a man walked over and wanted to look inside. Took him back to his high school days he said. Then he made a remark about a girlfriend and something that happened in that car. Almost immediately he snapped out of it and told me he had to get back to his wife in the car.

I am obviously leaving out a few details here. My point is here we were 2 strangers talking about a car and high school like we were long lost childhood friends. Kinda cool what an old car will do!

Maybe if we all dwelt on what we have in common with each other more we might enjoy our lives more as well! I felt as if I made a friend all because he wanted to talk about a car from his youth.

It would've never happened if I was driving a Toyota Camry ya know....

Season of Change

Wow...It's been a long time. So much has happened in my life since the last post. I never thought i would be at this place personally...

After 23 years of marriage my wife filed for divorce. I was stunned to say the least. Somehow there are NO words that sum up my feelings during this time. So here I am now...alone in an apartment starting over again. At 45 years old.

Let me make this clear.... I am at fault for many mistakes in my marriage and I don't want you to think my wife did "this" to me. We both did. It takes two to screw up a relationship.

Funny.... the theme of most of my seminars I spoke at in 2005 was "rejection". I guess I am experiencing it again first hand! I think I'll change in 2006 and speak on "living with millions of dollars in the bank". :)

Thanks for coming back to my blog. I promise to update every week again. It is actually therapeutic!