Motivate

Eyes open, reluctant to get out of bed? Look at the clock and wish it lied? Want the day to end before it begins? In the holiday routine and it's not a holiday?

After dragging myself out of bed, a thought love-tapped me. The inspiration came at the end of: "I have to do this," and "I must do that."

A spark of, "move it, move it," motivated me. So, I went to my third level brain function and ignited my imagination into firing up passion.

What's your passion? You can shift into a higher gear by treating yourself to your appetite.  A delight of mine is surrendering to JC. Another is losing myself in a story, either one I'm writing or one I'm reading.

Here we go.

New

New—a refreshing word.
New—a hopeful word.
New—a clean word.
New—a pure word.

What if your life didn't have seasons? Everything stayed the same, nothing ever changed? 












Not a good thought.


The word "new", changes that for us. There is an end, and there is a beginning.
Seasons come, and seasons go.
A time to plant, a time to harvest.
A time for the old to leave, new to arrive.

Be newly encouraged, look up, and desire a new heart. You can have it through JC.

Alone at Christmas

Several years ago, during Christmas, my daughter became sick. Kristina, then seven, couldn't tolerate food or liquids. Drinking water hurt. We exhausted our attempts at the Medical Center here in Yankton, so to Omaha Children's Hospital we went.

We were there over Christmas. Only one person stayed with Kristina overnight and it was my turn to go back to the motel room on Christmas Eve.

Walking from the car to the motel door was painful. Downcast and lonely, I felt. After entering the room, a thought dropped into my heart. Is this what Joseph experienced? He knocked on doors to only be rejected. "My wife will give birth; any room for us?" NO

Then another impression dropped in my heart. In a few hours, the heavens lit up with glory. I slept that night in peace.

The next morning I went to the hospital. What I saw when I walked in overwhelmed me. Presents filled the room.

The night pain, erased by the kindness of strangers.

Sleep, Data, Sleep - Tips for Sleeping

"Sleep, Data, sleep." This is my favorite Star Trek line. The crew rescued Captain Picard from the Borg. He is a Borg. "Sleep, Data, sleep," Picard says. He must be tired, someone else says. Data disagrees and states, "I believe he's offering a course of action."

Want a course of action for sleep?

1. Limit your caffeine use and TV viewing before bed. If I watch an exciting show, it'll take awhile for my heart beat to return to normal.

2. Cut off Social Media before bedtime.

3. If you wake up in the middle of the night and can't return to sleep, try the 3-2-1 method.
3- Take three deep breaths and hold the last one for several seconds.
2- Blow out two breaths.
1- Take one long breath
You'll yawn, then fall asleep.

Why is Donald High in the Polls?

Bill O'Reilly tackled this question. Trump says what America wants to hear. O'Reilly continued, Trump doesn't say how he's going to do something, only he's going to do it.

Trump's tactics: When asked he almost always says he didn't say that. "You said our government leaders are losers." Trump responded, "I didn't say that, I said they were stupid." Two birds with one insult. One shot at the media who can't get anything right and second shot at leaders who are stupid. Masterful? or Funny?

He quotes unknown sources. "They love me," he said referring to Hispanics.

Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him. He forces issues and makes it his. Donald owns the stage or thinks he does. Plus, he says what people are thinking, but to afraid to voice.

A few of my observations, not to be mistaken for support.

Look Where You're Going, Not Where You're Flat

Many years ago, on my way to a camp in Wisconsin, I had a flat tire. On the Interstate, near Sioux Falls, SD, I fixed my tire and proceeded to the Special Touch camp. Less than a mile, another tire blew. "What's happening?"

I maneuvered my car to the closest convenient store and found a pay phone. (Tells you how long ago this happened.) No one was available to send a tow truck, so I waited and prayed. "Help me get my tire fixed."

Impressed to pray for the disabled kids who I would assist at the camp, I forgot about my tire.
Several minutes later, the phone rang. "A tow truck is on the way."

On the road within the hour; I made it to the camp on time. (No, I didn't speed.)

I learned a valuable lesson that day: Pray where you're going, not where you're flat.





I talk about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJUZddkI_gY

Who Invented Volleyball?

William Morgan, as the physical education director at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts, invented volleyball in 1895.

At the 70th birthday of the YMCA On October 24, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson addressed the YMCA:
This was his speech:

"Christ came into the world to save others, not to save himself; and no man is a true Christian who does not think constantly of how he can lift his brother. I do believe that at 70 the YMCA is just reaching its majority. A dream greater even than George Williams ever dreamed will be realized in the great accumulating momentum of Christian men throughout the world...
These 70 years have just been a running start...now there will be a great rush of Christian principle upon the strongholds of evil and of wrong in the world. Those strongholds are not as strong as they look... All you have to do is to fight, not with cannon but with light...
That, in my judgment, is what the Young Men's Christian Association can do...
Eternal vigilance is the price, not only of liberty but of a great many other things...
It is the price of one's own soul...
What shall he give in exchange for his own soul, or any other man's soul?...
There is a text in Scripture... It says godliness is profitable in this life as well as in the life that is to come...
This world is intended as the place in which we shall show that we know how to grow in the stature of manliness and of righteousness.
I have come here to bid Godspeed to the great work of the Young Men's Christian Association."

A Name to a Crisis

A 3-year-old boy washes ashore on a Turkish beach. Aylan Kurdi

Seventy-one migrants suffocate in a truck in Austria.

Rula Jabbour's father fled Syria when he was tipped off that terrorists were on their way to kidnap and behead him. Months later, Jabbour's cousin, pregnant with twins, was killed in a terrorist rocket attack. Rula now worries about her 13-year-old sister who is still living in Syria with their parents.

The Syrian refugee would be less disturbing if it remained nameless. How would your view change if you had a Syrian immigrant living next door? Let's say you become good friends.

A family of six Syrian refugees arrived in Texas today. Their names are not released; only their picture. I wish the names would be known. 

First Female Ranger

Vermont National Guard Spc. Skylar Anderson became the first woman certified as a combat engineer. (This is a battlefield job.)

Anderson, 20, said it was a "big eye-opener" when a supervisor told her she was the first woman to complete the course.  She will work alongside men, clearing minefields, buildings bridges under fire or destroying structures to block the enemy's advance.

"It's time to step up and not hide in the shadow's," she said.

In civilian life she wants to become an equine veterinarian.

"The opportunity to actually go overseas and fight for what we're suppose to in the Army, it would be an honor, it would be something I'd really look forward to," Anderson said.

I applaud her.

California Shooting

First, I had a picture of the shooter in the California terrorist attack, but I deleted it, not wanting to lift the guy's status.

As an American I want to be comforted by this nation's leadership. I remember in past administrations that that was the first priority. After 9/11, we've seen the clip of the President putting his arm around a firefighter. Someone yells, "We can't hear you." Then the famous words, "I can hear you and those responsible will soon hear us."

It would be nice if the White House would stop the political rambling and give a hurting nation some words of comfort.

It reminds me of a funeral I went to several years ago of an infant that died suddenly. I was horrified when the official began reprimanding the parents for not getting the baby baptised.

As a nation, we are being reprimanded instead of encouragement. The reprimand can come after the funerals.

Clock-Making Teen

Ahmed Mohamed, 14-year-old, nicknamed, Clock-Boy, has become a celebrity. But Americans are growing increasingly suspicious of the family since his arrest. By now most would know he brought the above bomb looking device into school, who alerted officials.

President Obama tweeted, "Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House?"

Did the trip to the White House, give Ahmed's family a feeling of welcome? On the contrary, they moved to Qatar, then filed a lawsuit against the school.

The valedictorian of the school, also a devote Muslim, said the school does not discriminate against Muslims. She had high praise for the school.

The suspicion is that the incident was actually a stunt.

Interesting Topics

Want to know how YOU can deal with deception?
http://randy-studyoftheday.blogspot.com/2015/12/deception-how-to-deal-with-it.htm

My Newspaper article on the Sweet Adelines:
http://article77.blogspot.com/2015/11/sweet-adelines.html

How do you conversate?
http://randystories.blogspot.com/2015/11/how-do-you-conversate.html

Anaphora - A writing Style
http://randysideas.blogspot.com/2015/11/writing-tip-anaphora.html

Read my book reviews, starting with Jason Fort's, Misled:
http://randyreview.blogspot.com/2015/11/misled-by-jason-e-fort.html