In many ways I’m still all these forms of a Christian.  I sin regularly and repeatedly, with forethought and spontaneously, with malice and empathy, in the open and privately.  I am a man, therefore I am a sinner.  But today I work on it, today I’m conscience of it, today I pray about it, today I try.  And that’s probably why being on the battlefield of Christ is so much harder than sitting on the bench.  I’m trying to put God in the center of my life.  It’s hard.  It’s very hard.  But it is awesome!

Below is a link to a very interesting slide show.  Thank you, Mark.  I said a prayer for you.

CENTER_OF_THE_BIBLE

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray and read your Bible daily.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10.Take a 10-30 minutes’ walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t overdo. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree…

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37.  The best is yet to come..
38.  When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39.  Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about, I just did.

I’ve heard the term “fallen angel” to describe our shattered role models.  What a pathetic use of words – perhaps the underpinning of our problem.  We tend to elevate the greats in sports, Hollywood, music and politics to some godly height and then we’re slack-jawed when they fail.  This is what we get for forgetting they are human.

I write this with some naïveté.  I have rarely looked up to the typical greats as any form of role model.  Tiger is a great golfer and is well-spoken, that’s it.  Mel Gibson is a decent actor and an interesting director, that’s all.  Taylor Swift is a good songwriter and a good performer, no more.  Yes, many of these people do great things behind the scenes.  Gary Sinise is a huge supporter of our troops and has launched several charities to help the people of Iraq.  I hold Gary Sinise on a small pedestal, not because he is an accomplished actor, but because he uses his celebrity for positive actions in a dark world, and he does it nearly completely under the radar.

But I recognize that I’m lucky for role models – I’ve never needed to look any further than my own family.  My father and grandfathers would be honored, albeit embarrassed, to know they are role models.  And there lies our litmus test.  A narcissist may do good things, but only for his own glory.  A hero does good things and is humbled by any recognition.  But let us not forget any role model is still human and thereby doomed to failure, making it all the more important to keep things in perspective.  There was only one perfect human being to ever walk this earth and His story is written for all of us to read.  He is my role model.  Though I stumble and fall; am sometimes wicked and always with sin; am impatient and imperfect; am wasteful and often inconsiderate, am jealous and ever doubtful – Jesus has become the one I chose to follow and emulate.  I am not worthy, but he accepts me anyway with the spilling of His blood.  My hero fell once, too.  But He rose to become my King.

There was a catalysts about 8 weeks ago in my life that has begun to expand my Comfort Box, and its done so very acutely and with amazing speed.  I may expound on this in a later post, but not now.  I’ve met people in the last 8 weeks that I know I would not have otherwise… since the “epiphany” I like to call it.  It turns out those people know other people, whom I’ve met and have been able to spend time with.  I’ve expanded my horizons in thought, forgiveness, servitude, business and awareness.  And so therefore my Comfort Box has grown… and I haven’t found a negative aspect of it yet.

Eternal optimism I suppose.  Not hope, but optimism.  Hope ushered in our current president, therefore I have no hope.  But I do have optimism because I know what Americans are capable of inspite of roadblocks placed around them.  So I continue the daily lie knowing someday I won’t be lying.