We all know the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge…the antagonist in the novella, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. He was a greedy, hard, bitter man. It was only after his encounter with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future that he had a complete change of heart. The encounter changed him forever.

As Dickens writes at the end, “Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.”

I will soon add another year to my chronological age. Another reason why the holidays hold less of an attraction. Merry Christmas AND Happy Birthday GEEZER!

But I take solace and encouragement from Dickens’ character: We can continue to grow. As someone told me the other day…’it’s never too late to be the person you wanted to be.’

Here’s the question…who is that person for you? Who IS it you wanted to be? If you haven’t gotten there yet…it’s not too late.

Start here: take out your smart phone or a piece of paper and jot down character traits you want to be true of you now, at this place in your life. Mine included truthfulness, wisdom, and compassion. Start here…make your own list.

And then…look at the list everyday. Philippians 4:8 frames it like this: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Here’s what I know…no one ever DRIFTED into greatness. Wanna be THAT person? Start with a clear vision and regular effort. Make the list. Look at it everyday. And ask yourself…are these actual or aspirational? Are they real or are they still out there to be gained.

Be sure to mix in lots of grace for yourself. Real growth takes more than one night and three ghosts!

 

 

Life has a way of stealing our dreams. Some of them weren’t meant to be. Others are missed by moments of fear or indecision. Some due for lack of resources.

And when they go, dreams die hard.

So…what do we do when they’re gone? Is it possible to start over? I came across a list of helpful questions by Sheridan Voysey (www.sheridanvoysey.com) that is quite helpful. Take some time…reflect on these. Notice what begins to emerge:

1. An experience I’d like to have…

 

2. A person I’d like to learn from…

 

3. A project I’d like to complete…

 

4. A hobby I’d like to explore…

 

5. A relationship I’d like to strengthen…

 

6. A talent or spiritual gift I’d like to develop…

 

7. A character trait I’d like to grow in…

 

8. A wrong I’d like to right…

 

9. ‘The place God calls you to is where the world’s deep hunger and your deep gladness meet’ (Frederick Buechner):

• A world need or cause (‘hunger’) I feel drawn to…

 

• A job or task I feel most alive doing (‘gladness’)…

 

10. The part of God’s Dream I most resonate with…

• Fulfilling Longings

• Healing Wounds

• Creating Beauty

• Restoring Harmony

 

11. What I’d do if money were no object…

 

12. What I’ll regret not doing before I die…

 

Take them seriously. They’re trying to tell you something.

It’s basically been forever since I’ve written anything worth reading. In fact, to be honest, every time I started to write there was just too much pain.

Oilver Wendall Holmes observed,  “Many people die with their music still in them. Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it time runs out.”

In my case the music died BEFORE I did. Life. Depression. Worry. Stress. The music just went away. And let’s face it…what Ollie really meant was we die without using who God uniquely made us to be to make the world a better place. We lose the joy. To quote songwriter Bruce Cockburn, “sometimes it feels like you lived too long…the days drip slowly on the page…and you find yourself…pacing the cage”.

Interesting thing: I woke up this morning and thought…it’s time. Time to write again. Time to put it out there. Time to re-engage. No more pacing the cage. And no more holding the music in. Enough. Think of it as signs of life.

So…I’ll be offering something up on a more regular, frequent basis. And who knows…maybe it’ll actually be worth reading.

In the mean time:

What I’m reading: Vanishing Grace by Phillip Yancey

What I’m re-reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

What I’m listening to: an EP from Sun Valley Community Church in Gilbert, AZ

What I’m excited about: An upcoming visit to Africa…it’s been too long!

What I’m praying for: Unity and civility in our country.

 JOBS ARE WHAT people do for a living, many of them for eight hours a day, five days a week, minus vacations, for most of their lives. It is tragic to think how few of them have their hearts in it. They work mainly for the purpose of making money enough to enjoy their moments of not working. If not working is the chief pleasure they have, you wonder if they wouldn’t do better just to devote themselves to that from the start. They would probably end up in bread-lines or be…
“What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” asks the Preacher (Ecclesiastes 1:3). If he’s in it only for the money, the money is all he gains, and when he finally retires, he may well ask himself if it was worth giving most of his life for. If he’s doing it for its own sake—if he enjoys doing it and the world needs it done—it may very possibly help to gain him his own soul.  

Frederick Buechner – Originally published in Whistling in the Dark

I heard this great quote during a podcast between Tim Ferris and Mr. Money Mustache (@mrmoneymustache) Pete Adeney. Essentially the quote is this: 

“If happiness is less about adding and more about subtracting, what would you add, what would you subtract in your life?”

I thought a lot about that while on the treadmill this morning. I’ve always been better at adding, terrible at subtracting. 

I’ll add Biblical community. I’ll subtract financial stress. I’ll add friends. I’ll subtract busyness.

How about you??

Do we even KNOW what makes us happy? Does that seem selfish to you? What if your own happiness actually spilled over into the lives of those around you?

Not so selfish after all…

It’s been quite a while since I posted here. I went ‘radio silent’ for a while. Lots of reasons. Kinda like Mark Twain…”ladies and gentlemen, I have nothing to say. When I do have something to say I’ll be back!”

So…maybe I’m back! These days this is my view…a lot. Traveling a lot. Meeting some great people. Seeing some amazing things. 

Like this: 1940 Lockheed Electra 12a…immaculate condition. Tucked away, almost forgotten. 

Or this…an opportunistic monkey looking for a snack.

Once again, a world of possibilities. No limits. Only possibilities.

The point is…life is good again. Lots of changing scenery. New friends. And in it all…God is very good. 

Ok…time to board…again!

These days are interesting. This week I’ve flown instrument approaches and learned to hover in a helicopter. In the airplane I’ve taken off with my foggles on…which equates to a 0/0 takeoff…completely by instruments. Scary…challenging.

Apart from that I spend time working on an old boat. And it’s never done. Still, it’s a world traveler so it’s totally worth the effort. And one day it’ll see the world again.

Last weekend I spent on the Harley with my brother…my hero and friend. 

And I stay in touch with my friends around the world…a gift…a blessing. And yesterday I fed 247 kids. I do love that.

So…all in all…not a bad life!

    
After 8 hrs of canoeing, 3 portages, and 15-20 knot winds, we made our campsite on Lake Manitou.

It’s beautiful…pristine…uninhabited. We mostly have the entire lake to ourselves. 

The Canadians are nazis about the environment…there were literally police at the drop off point to check for permits, etc.

At night all food goes into the trees to discourage the black bears ( there’s one bear per square mile here). I wonder how the Canadians worked that out?

   
Today we’ll relax, fish, eat, read and generally do whatever we want. Tomorrow we start back. As long as the wind cooperates it’ll be a long but decent run. If not…we’ll get home…eventually. 

  I’ve heard about it for years…the worlds biggest aviation celebration…EAA’s Airventure at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Based on the aircraft present, from tiny home builts to the massive Airbus 350 XWB, it is breathtaking!
I spent a few days wandering around, taking in seminars (from ADS-B to Is your engine healthy?) and being completely wowed by the world class aerobatics every afternoon.

Yesterday, Burt Rutan and his brother Dick were there to share lots of stories. Burt has designed and built more than 40 aircraft from the Variez to Spaceship One. A prolific aviation genius, he arrived flying the Starship he designed for Beechcraft. Awesome aircraft!

  
I even happened upon the guy who gave me my very first airplane ride so long ago. He’s an industry expert in his particular aircraft, the Aeronica Champ. He was there educating other pilots in how to rebuild and maintain these great two-seater, tail dragger aircraft.

I chickened out and flew commercial this year. Next year…the Cherokee will join the ranks of those privileged to land at Whitman Field!

Robert Byrne once wrote, “The purpose of life is a life with purpose”. 

Let me ask you…what’s the purpose of your life?

In a similar vein, Viktor Frankl, survivor of three Nazi prison camps, once observed that it is not so much the responsibility of each of us to answer the question ‘what is the meaning of life?’, but more our responsibility, even opportunity to know that is the question all of life is asking: what is the meaning YOU are attaching to YOUR life.

Lately I’ve discovered it’s gotta be about more than my work. A wise man once told me “never base your worth in anything you can lose”. That goes for work, relationships, wealth, and so many other things.

I’m coming to believe that meaning is about the importance we attach to any number of things in life. And purpose? That’s more about what we will do with our unique gifts, abilities, energy, and perspective. 

And beyond that, what if purpose is attached to something greater? Like what our Creator had in mind when He put OUR distinct piece of the puzzle here. Now that’s something we can spend a lifetime coming to grasp.