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Was going through my bedroom closet the other day. Came upon a box containing all sorts of photos and mementoes from my working days. Many pictures of happy times with friends and co-workers that I haven’t seen or heard from in years. There were small plaques and paper weights and mugs given to me at speaking engagements and such. I ran out of space for them long ago.

It’s really time for me to put them out, but somehow I am having trouble bringing myself to do it. All of these precious friends were part of my past and, in some small way, influenced my life. To throw away their photos is to throw away those sweet memories as well.

So they’re going back in the box and back in the closet. God willing, I’ll dig them up in another few years and enjoy the memories all over again. There is much to be said for honoring and preserving the past. Some day I’ll be gone and my family will probably throw all this stuff out. But these relics have meaning for me, and I want them around, even if I seldom look at them. Is that weird?

One of those awards shows was on TV recently. I didn’t watch it, but I saw pictures from it. The celebrities walked down the red carpet in droves. Some of them showed up in ridiculous outfits, while others were nearly naked. It was obvious that these “stars” were desperate to stand out from the crowd. They plotted for publicity. So they wore bizarre designs they knew would be talked about.

Of course, it worked. They were the talk of the internet the next day. I guess we all crave attention and acknowledgement in our own way. We all want to be noticed and appreciated. It makes us feel secure and accepted.

The One who created you knows who you are, acknowledges you, loves you, and is working for your eternal happiness. You don’t have to look and act in ridiculous ways to get His attention. You are already on His red carpet.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard people say if you refrain from eating unhealthy but delicious foods, eventually you will lose the desire for them. I have to be honest here. I have not found that to be true. I have stopped eating things such as french fries, ice cream, and diet soft drinks for as long as six months at a time. but I’ve never lost the desire for them. And when I do weaken and go back to them, they taste just as good as ever, if not better.

Temptation in other areas of life is like that. The inclination to think and do ungodly things is never going away. Satan won’t let that happen. But you can get better at guarding and resisting. Being prepared for it is the key. Asking for God’s help is the first step.

I still occasionally enjoy french fries, ice cream and diet drinks. But not nearly as often. I’m getting better at resisting. How is your willpower these days? Still struggling? I know where you can get help.

Have you ever heard a recording of your own voice? Most people are a bit surprised at the sound of their own voice. That’s because, when we speak, we don’t quite hear our voice the way other people do. We hear it as it vibrates up through our facial bones to our ear drums. That gives it a fuller, more bass effect. Most people think their voice is thinner and has more treble when they hear it on a recording.

The actual words we say may also sound differently to others than they do to you. It’s easy to unintentionally hurt someone’s feelings by blurting out something you thought was harmless, but touches your listener in a very personal way. Give some thought before you speak. If you are in doubt about how something will be perceived, probably better not to say it.

Make sure the sound of your voice is always welcome.

I recently observed the ten year anniversary of my retirement from full time work. Wow. That was a fast ten years. The passage of time seems to have accelerated to twice the speed since my retirement. I have been blessed with many new endeavors and adventures in the last decade, but with every new day comes an increased awareness that our time on this earth is limited.

You only get so many sunrises, hugs from your family, and opportunities to love on somebody who needs it.

So many of my friends, people that I cared about, have run out of time and passed on. Don’t take a single day for granted. Make your time count. Be somebody’s blessing today. You only get so many chances.

One of the many things I most admire about my wife Sharon is her willpower. She made up her mind to stop drinking soda, stop eating fatty foods and sugary snacks, and that was it! She hasn’t weakened in over a year. She’s so good at resisting temptation.

During that time, I have made several attempts to copy her eating and drinking reforms. I last a few days, and then I fall off the wagon. I get frustrated at my own lack of mental toughness.

Clearly, I can’t do it on my own. I’m praying for God’s help. The Good Book says “with God, all things are possible”. I’m counting on that. Do you have a challenge that seems too difficult? You need help too. It’s not hard to find. He’s always there.

It would be funny if it weren’t concerning. I’m talking about how our culture has evolved over the decades. In 1952, Lucille Ball’s character on I Love Lucy became pregnant. But the word “pregnant” was considered too suggestive, so the actors were not allowed to say it. They had to use terms such as “with child” and “expecting”.

In 1957, when Elvis appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, he was only shown from the shoulders up, because his gyrating hips were considered too sexual. Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island, and Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie, were at first banned from showing their belly buttons on TV. That was considered way too promiscuous.

Seems silly now, doesn’t it? I guess that’s because there is virtually nothing you can’t see or hear on TV today. The TV industry has long since abandoned any effort to preserve moral values. That’s our job now.

You are being manipulated. We all are. The political forces that control our media outlets are behind it. Every shred of reality is being filtered through a partisan lens before it comes to us. We are being brainwashed and bombarded by distorted and radical propaganda every day. This is true of both sides. As a result, it has become near impossible to discern the truth about what is going on in our world.

In fact, the truth has become irrelevant. What is right and what is wrong no longer matters. All that matters is to win. Win votes, and the political power that comes with them. There can be no sincere dialog between points of view. No open discourse. You are evil and we are good. And that’s that.

What makes it all so very unfortunate is that, high above the clouds of mistrust, hate and fear, floats the truth we all want the same things. And we could achieve them, if we just put aside the anger and worry, and focused on love, mutual respect and service. Are we too far gone? I pray not.

I love crossword puzzles. I work on one every day. I inherited my passion from my mother, who did a crossword every day to keep her mind sharp, until her vision deteriorated to where she couldn’t read them anymore. Puzzles are often classified according to difficulty, as in Easy, Medium or Hard. The problem is, every publisher seems to have a different standard for these categories.

I worked through a book of Christmas crosswords from Random House that was labeled as “Hard”, but I solved them easily, and started to feel quite highly of myself. Then I started working on puzzles in a book from the New York Times described as “Medium”. Whoa! They were incredibly difficult! They had me stumped. Suddenly I didn’t feel like such a genius.

Clearly, various companies set their own standards, just as our evolving culture does. It can be confusing and frustrating. We would be well advised to stick to God’s standards for life. That way you will always fill in the blanks with the right answers.

There used to be a TV show called “Super Nanny”. It was about a professional nanny whom you could hire to teach your out-of-control children how to behave, and to respect their parents. She also taught the parents how to properly handle their kids. Within a few weeks, she would take bratty, unruly children and transform them into model offspring.

I often doubted the realism of these shows, and wondered if the families were just performing for compensation. There’s not one perfect way to raise a child. You just love them as much as you can, do the best you can, and pray they turn out well.

Raising them in a Christian home can help. 75 percent of children raised in Christian homes remain active in their faith throughout adulthood. They have a better chance of growing up to be moral, secure and confident grown-ups.

You don’t need Super Nanny’s help to set a positive Christian example.