Always A Choice

We always have a choice. We can't choose our temperament. We can't choose our circumstances. However, given all the many things that we cannot choose we still always have a choice. And that is one of the things that can make a life meaningful no matter what the circumstance.

A case in point: Holocaust victims, confined to a squalid life inside of Auschwitz. Although these men and women were stripped of almost all their human dignities, there was something that the Nazis could not touch. Most of those in the concentration camps succumbed to hopelessness and despair and reduced themselves to treating themselves and other's around them as less-than-human. An extraordinary few, though, chose to continue to treat themselves and others with dignity and kindness, even at the risk of their own lives. These few, in the most dire circumstances, show us that we always have a choice. Those choices, as hard as they may be, can bring meaning, love and hope to any circumstance.

EMPHASIZING the EMPHATIC!!!!!!! (eating crap+not exercising = super skinny??)

Wow, everytime I post I write this--but it's true: it's been FOREVER since I last posted (not including the poem I wrote a few days ago).

Met with my bro a few days ago. We are crazy different. It's always interesting to be with him but afterwards I am always pretty ponderous.

I purchased John Mayer's "Continuum" (his latest cd) on Itunes. I LOVE it! The first 7 songs are all really good. I especially like "Heart of Life." It sounds different, even Beatle-esque.

I usually reflect and reminesce on either time, people, life or God in my posts but, hmm, in this one I have just written about none of that "deep" stuff.

"Life is in Christ and nothing else really matters...Everything is an opportunity in Christ to grow." I'd like to make this my mantra. It is such a great saying and it sort of reminds me of Ephesians 3:19: "that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" in that you can get so much out of the words if you emphasize them at different points. Let me explain...

Ephesians 3:19 is FILLED with numerous emphatic words like FILLED, MEASURE< ALL, GOD, FULLNESS. All these words are used in a single sentence and all of them are used to emphasize the unfathomable DEPTH and BREADTH that GOD encompasses. Trying saying the sentence and emphasizing a different emphatic word each time (i.e. FILLED to the measure of all the fullness of God...filled to the MEASURE of all the fullness of God...filled to the measure of ALL the fullness of God...filled to the measure of all the FULLNESS of God...filled to the measure of all the fullness of GOD).

Fun huh? Now try reading through Ephesians 3:19 and emphasizing all the emphatic words (i.e. FILLED to the MEASURE of ALL the FULLNESS of GOD).

Now lets try this little ditty using my mantra: "LIFE is in Christ and nothing else really matters...everything is an opportunity in Christ to grow; Life is in CHRIST and nothing else really matters...everything is an opportunity in CHRIST to grow; Life is in Christ and NOTHING else really matters...everything is an opportunity in Christ to grow; Life is in Christ and nothing else REALLY matters...everything is an opportunity in Christ to grow; Life is in Christ and nothing else really matters...EVERYTHING is an opportunity in Christ to grow; Life is in Christ and nothing else really matters...everything is an OPPORTUNITY in Christ to grow;
Life is in Christ and nothing else really matters...everything is an opportunity in Christ to GROW.

Finally here's the mantra with all the emphatic words emphasized (LIFE is in CHRIST and NOTHING else REALLY matters...EVERYTHING is an OPPORTUNITY in CHRIST to GROW).

Don't you get a lot more out of the words after going through that exercise?

Speaking of exercise I haven't done any in the last 10 days. Plus, I've been eating a lot of crap When I don't exercise and eat lots of crap instead of gaining weight I tend to lose it. Crazy.

On that note I'm going to stop procrastinating and mow the lawn and then shoot some hoops mos def.

Come on baby let's dance

Come on baby let's dance

Round and round the circle we go

Where we end up only God knows

Swinging forth and bursting through

It's time for us to create something new and stay true

Lets show them what we're all about

Lets twist and shout and run all about

Let them show us what they're all about

We'll just stay here and pout

Hanging out

Hanging

Out

Baby let's dance come on