Time for an update

I've just spent this his past year focused on my physical rehabilitation.  It wasn't any one big event that sent me to The Endurance Athlete Center, even though I've had a few.  It was a series of smaller events over time, bad advice, and poor habits.  Twenty years in the National Guard, with most of that on active duty in the U.S. Army, wore me down.  When my body started failing me; shoulders, hips, and legs in particular, I retired from the Guard.  At first I just attributed it to age and the athleticism of working through natural disasters and combat zones.  I thought rest from the stress and strain was all I needed.  Then pain become constant, weakness prevalent, and as I worked to get myself back into shape I realized rest wasn't enough and I didn't know how to recuperate.  I sought help.

This is an unsolicited testimonial for The Endurance Athlete Center.  Liz, my physical therapist, helped me find the weaknesses, the causes of the weaknesses, and then put me on the path to recovery.  She then handed me off to Graeme, my trainer, who taught, coached, and mentored me to find my way back to strength and health.  We started working at my pace, now we're working at his so that by the end of the session I'm nothing but a puddle of mud.  Rebecca has shown me how to maximize the effect of the work I'm putting forth through proper nutrition.  I've made great strides and I'm not done yet.

I cannot thank them enough.  If you're in Northern Virginia, DC, or Maryland, I highly recommend before you start a physical training program, see your doctor, and then call The Endurance Athlete Center.  Proper training is the difference between success and failure.  If you're an athlete and want to improve your performance, call The Endurance Athlete Center.  If you've sustained an injury and your doctor prescribes physical therapy and rehabilitation, call The Endurance Athlete Center.  They know what they're doing

The Miracle at Cana

I've often contemplated what is the mystery of the miracle of the wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1-11).  This morning, while meditating on this mystery in the Rosary, the Lord revealed to me a new aspect of this teaching.

We are both Priest and Prophet on the earth.  The Priest has the authority to call on the Lord and the Prophet the responsibility to carry it out.  Mary is the figure from which the church is modeled; Mary is to God as the Church is to Christ.  The servants are the messengers delivering the result.  Mary tells them "do whatever He tells you."  In this scene, Mary is directing the ministry of Jesus and the servants are carrying it out.  Mary has authority to call on Jesus, the servants the responsibility to do what he tells them and deliver the results to the others.

Remember, this is on the other side of the Cross where priest and prophet were separate.  Moses and Aaron, David and Nathaniel, the Law and Elijah and Elisha. This side of the Cross, we are both priest and prophet.  We have the authority to call on the Lord and also the responsibility to carry out what He tells us.  Practice listening.

Should we be led by faith?

That is the title of an article in today's Washington Post yet most of the article speaks to and about religion. Be not deceived. Faith and religion are not the same thing. We all have faith in something. It is that "thing" that gets us out of bed in the morning. It is that "thing" that motivates us to do the common, ordinary things of life. In reality, that "thing" is your god. So what is that "thing" for you?

thoughts on sin and living in the world

Hebrews 10:1-2 "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins." 


We have been purged of sin, in Christ by the Blood of Jesus. We should have no more consciousness of sin because our Father has is not conscience of sin. Does that mean we live without sin? Romans 6:2 "For he this is dead is freed from sin." Romans 6:3 "Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life." 

We are not capable of a sacrifice for sin. Jesus has done that. Once. For all. We can only accept His death in order to receive His life. Is this a sin-less life? No. Jesus sacrificed His sin-less life so that we may receive from Him a sin-free life. Sin is in the world and as long as we are in the world we must deal with sin. As Jesus said, John 16:33, "In the world you shall have tribulation ..." We are "in" the world, we are no longer "of" the world. 

Eph 2:12 "That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (13) but now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made near by the blood of Christ." Phil 2:15 "That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." Col 2:20 "Wherefore if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances after the commandments and doctrines of men?"

Does that mean we are no longer subject to the law? Yes. And No. The laws of society have a purpose. So that people may live peaceably. And as Paul tells us, Romans 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." But more importantly, if you live in the love of God and walk in his word and Spirit you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal 5:16) and will live within the boundaries of the laws of the land and free from the prosecution of the law as well as live free from the  persecution of sin. 

Sin is around us. We will find times when we slip or aren't listening to the Spirit as closely as we ought. We will not be without sin, but we are free from its condemnation.  John tells us, 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  We won't be sin-less, but we are sin-free.

Having Faith

To believe is a decision. Faith is the corresponding action. In my last post I mentioned that decisions are points where honesty, truth, and listening converge. It is at these convergences that what you believe shows in the actions you take. Actions, truly, speak louder than words ...

Wow, can't believe it's been so long since I've posted here. Well, I've been wandering. What I love about wandering is finding new things, finding new things about old things, and challenging the way I think about all things. I like to challenge what I think I know about what I know to find what I don't know I need to know. Cool, huh? What's really cool is that it's all tied together. We are each the culmination of our history. The history of our parents and families, and the history of our decisions. Each decision we make is a little more history. I find it amazing that sometimes what seems like a little decision at the time may make a big difference over time. Each and every decision has a lasting effect. A lifetime effect. It is your history.

So, how do you want your history to read?

Decisions are points where honesty, truth, and listening converge. You have to be honest with yourself, search for truth, and listen for guidance. It can be there, even in the smallest decisions.

Have you ever paid attention to that little voice that seems to be deep in the back of your head that seems to speak at critical decision points? I've learned to listen to that voice. And the learning curve has been steep for me. It comes with the wandering bent I have. I've also learned the it's there all the time, not just at critical decision points, if you practice listening for it.

Last night, Laura was telling me about an incident regarding a project she was working on and said: "I've got to learn to listen to myself. That little voice told me I should think about adding ... to this project and I didn't. Today (a colleague) came around and said 'has ... signed off on this? I think they should be the ones to study this and set the rules. I'm suggesting that in my comments.' and that was exactly what I thought when I first started (the project)." Well, now her colleague will get the credit for the idea and the addition, though that doesn't matter much to Laura. She doesn't care much about who gets the credit as long as the best work possible gets done.

But my response was, "That little voice isn't yours. It's the Holy Spirit and yes, you should listen to it." Yes, I'm Christian and I really hope you could tell that before I told you, but that is another blog post. Today I want to dwell on the rest of what I learned when this comment sparked my wandering.

It first took me to 1Kings 19 where Elijah took to the hills to hide from Ahab and Jezebel, the king and queen of Israel, after he had killed their prophets of Baal. It didn't make them fans and they were out to kill him. He made it to Horeb, the mount of God, where he and God were working things out when God told him, "Stand up on the mount" and God passed by. Now here's the good part. When God passed by there was a strong wind that broke the rocks, but God wasn't in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but God wasn't in the fire. After the fire there was a still, small voice. It's not the chaos, confusion, loud, boisterous, rock throwing windbag that should concern you; what is the still, small voice saying?

Yep, that same still, small voice that we each hear at decision time, if we will choose to listen for it. I then had the opportunity to learn more at church. Yesterday was a Holy Day of Obligation, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and at one point during the service when parishioners were moving forward for take part in the Communion, I saw a girl trying to get into the line and that still small voice said, "stop, let her through." But she was indecisive and I was preoccupied and went back to my business. In just a few minutes I realized what I had done, but it was too late. The opportunity had passed and I missed it. And then the voice said, "In obedience is the Blessing." I don't know what that Blessing would have been for that act of kindness. I missed it. I missed the moment but I didn't miss the lesson. That decision left a lasting mark on my history.

I learned.

Leadership Lessons from my Uncle Robert

My Uncle Robert is a quiet, unassuming man. Very practical and a very strong in his beliefs and steadfast in his way. Not one to be trifled with, Uncle Robert is a very fair and focused man. He is one of the four most important men in my life.

He has lived through the great upheavals of the 20th Century; the Great Depression, the Dustbowl, the Internet and yet still conducts his business with determined vision, a steady hand, and great concern for his employees and their production. This has allowed him to maximize the use of his own facilities and his reputation is such that he has the use of the property of others with few questions asked. 

He treats his employees with great care. He sees that they have what they need, are well supplied and that their environment is as good as he can possibly make it. He’s always there to help, coax, and defend them when necessary and values their production no matter how small. Yet he has no tolerance for the unproductive. 

As a young man, I would look forward to the summers when I could work for him. It was truly a rewarding and fun experience. Uncle Robert was a man of patience and timing when it came to his business. Now, understand that Uncle Robert never had more than one or two people working for him at any particular time except during the summers when he would have somewhere around fifteen of us kids, cousins all, scattered across his operation. Yet his employees made him one of the most prosperous men in the community. 

You see, Uncle Robert is a farmer. The employees I write of are not necessarily those individual people but the individual seeds and the individual plants that brought forth individual products.

He knows the proper time to plant and that once planted you have to have patience. You have to wait to see which individuals survive the process. When the first shoots spring forth is only one indication of the process. Some will come up later than others and still others simply will not survive the process. The life of the organization is just not in them.

Those that do survive he cultivates. He sees to their needs. He insures their environment is all that it can be for them to thrive and produce. He keeps track of their production process, makes sure they are well supplied and values each and every little thing they produce. He knows that individual production is the key to the overall harvest. He also know what his return will be, because he knows what he planted; he reaps what he sows. We all do.

Are you cultivating or curtailing? Do you prune or do you prevent? 

If you don’t like what you’re reaping, change what you’re sowing.