Two Choices

The following is an email my mom sent me. I hope you take to heart the importance and value of this inspiring man illustrated below. John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!' 'You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?' He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood.' Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. 'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested. 'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.' I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place... 'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.' 'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked. He continued, '...the paramedics were great.' They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.' 'What did you do?' I asked. 'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.' He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude....I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.' Matthew 6:34. After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Going Against Talents

In high school, I felt a huge desperation to try and fit in with the "cool" crowd. In my opinion, the "cool" crowd, also known as the popular crowd, were the athletes in my school. They received all the attention and people just seemed to know who they were. I wanted that.

For much of my high school career, I tried desperately to be good at sports. In middle school I was a member of the volleyball, basketball, and track teams, but was definitely not a stand out star. I decided to try some different sports in high school. From powerlifting, soccer, and cross country...none of them provided me with what I had hoped for.

Luckily for me, I did discover something I was naturally good at in high school: public speaking and horseback riding. It hasn't been until nearly 4 years after my high school graduation that I have come to appreciate my God-given talents. Sometimes I think back to how I wish I could have focused more on the things that I was naturally good at because who knows where they could have taken me. And since then, I've learned a lot more about myself and what I am naturally good at.

Everyone hass a natural talent. Do not go against it. Who knows where it can end up taking you. You know yourself better than anyone so do not let a person or other people guide the path you take in life. Use your God-given talents. Love them. Appreciate them. I wish I figured this out sooner than I did. I learned that what I wanted in the beginning turned out to be something I would not have truly wanted. Fitting in turned out to be a lot better because I was (and still am) surrounded by people who could positively influence my natural talents and help me improve them.

Two Horses

The following story is an email I received from a good friend of mine.


"Two Horses"
(Author Unknown)

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.

From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. but if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing.

Looking into the eyes of one horse, will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.



This alone is amazing. If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.

Attached to the horse's halter, is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.

As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then, slowly, walk to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.

When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops, occasionally, and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.



Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect, or because we have problems or challenges.

He watches over us, and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes, we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those whom God places in our lives. Other times,we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way.

Good friends are like that... You may not always see them, but you know they are always there!

Please listen for my bell, and I'll listen for yours.

And remember...
Be kinder than necessary. Everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly...

And leave the rest to God! For we walk by faith, and not by sight. Amen.

Technology and Communication

Lately, I've become rather irritated with how people communicate via technology--mainly texting and Facebook. It appears as though many people are struggling to communicate without the barrier of a cell phone or computer to "protect" them when resolving a conflict in particular.

Do not get me wrong, I am perfectly fine with having conversations with someone about plans for the night, to see how a friend's day is going, wishing someone good luck on an exam, or simply just catching up through text messaging or through Facebook. However, I am not okay with someone trying to solve an issue or conflict with someone or arguing through either of these means of communication. Personally, I think technology is great and it is something that I use every single day. It is up to each individual person to use it appropriately.

Ask yourself this: How do you resolve conflict? If text messaging, Facebook, or posting a status targeted at someone came to mind, in my opinion you are handling your conflicts both poorly and negatively.

Technology is destroying the way we communicate in a negative way. When we are faced with a problem, we need to be mature about it. Pick up the phone and call that person. Or schedule a time to meet for lunch to talk about it. Do not resort to a cowardly way out by hiding behind the face of technology. By doing this, it feels okay to say mean things and we say things we would not normally face-to-face.

My whole point with this blog post was to get you thinking about how you handle conflict in your own life. Become the bigger person, do not give in to someone who may try to use technology as a means of communicating to resolve conflict. Force him or her to sit down face-to-face or pick up the phone and call that person.

The conflict will not become as messy, it will be resolved sooner, and things that we wish we could take back will not be said.

Are you happy?

Poster Credit: Alex Koplin and David Meiklejohn