Facing Disappointment Head On!

Clean Slate Living Principle: Who doesn’t want to have each and every day loaded with positive and pleasing things happening all around them? Most days have there share of both the good and the unpleasant. Once in awhile, we get hit broadside with very real, seemingly overwhelming disappointment. The moment it happens an explosion of emotions roar inside us. It’s like walking right into a Hornets nest. At that instant, we have a very real decision to make. Do I give way to the wild collision of volatile emotions and let them loose or do I pause and reach for God?

Major disappointment roared in my family’s life this week. To say it’s been a little nuts around my house is an understatement. I thank God we were able to pause and seek His face. It certainly made a profound difference. In a very short amount of time we either learned or were reminded of the following:

- We are not the commanders of our own destiny.
- Mistakes were made…what can we learn from them?
- Do we trust God or just talk about trusting God?
- Have we determined to keep bitterness or anger at bay?
- Have we determined to give no opportunity to the Devil ?
- Will we respond like Christians?

To keep each day fresh we MUST learn how to navigate disappointment in a swift and godly manner.

Ramsey Shines

I had FOX News while I was getting ready for work. The morning crew was in a heated discussion about the dramatic collapse of the global investment bank Lehman Brothers. They rolled tape of one the presidential candidates saying that this week was the single darkest economic period in America’s history while showing a group of people in a town hall meeting. To the person, they looked terrified. Then I hear the announcer say they were bringing in financial expert Dave Ramsey for his take on the situation. Grace has well over a hundred people taking the Ramsey Financial Peace seminar over several Sundays this fall so I was really curious how he would handle the pressure of live TV on such a hot button topic. He literally knocked it out of the park. You could tell the morning crew was not expecting to be impressed by this guy but they were.

Ramsey was poised, well prepared, funny, balanced and calming. He agreed these are turbulent times but asked viewers not to fall pry to overblown assessments of gloom that are not based on facts. He made sense. It was a thrill to see a brother in Christ represent His Lord to the nation in such a professional and helpful manner.

My First Time At WW!

Last Saturday, I was the only guy present at a meeting I have carefully avoided sitting in on for way over twenty years. The facilitator was energetic and armed with data. Those in attendance gladly came to support each other by sharing their victories and defeats against a common enemy…weight. Yep, I was at Weight Watchers. Annie has been asking me to go with her for years and I felt it was time for us to do this together. I actually enjoyed the meeting and found the approach pretty intriguing.

Since getting Diabetes, I have lost weight but I need to take off more. We have enjoyed this first week and I think we may just pull this off.

By the time they had diminished from 50 to just 8, the other dwarves began to suspect 'Hungry'..."
— Gary Larson, The Far Side.

remain current

Clean Slate Living Principle: Life has a way of squeezing us into two very unproductive time frames. The past and/or the future. We become so anxious and confused about right now that we either retreat into the what was or try to run into what’s next prematurely. There is certainly much to be learned from our past and much to trust and plan for tomorrow but I deeply believe God wants us especially locked into the present.


It’s a fine dance to remain fluid and enjoy and impact life moment by moment when there is such a strong call to camp in yesterday or push past this moment to run into only God knows what. I felt that tension a little last night watching John McCain deliver his speech at the RNC. I thought of past elections and how my decision who to vote for seemed to come much easier. Right there on the couch, God asked me to pray about the coming election. To my shame, it’s something I haven’t done with any real measure. Big things are happening right now, globally, nationally, here in Erie and right in the center of our lives. Part of my prayer each day is that God would help me focus on the seen and unseen going on all around me…today.

Having spent the better part of my life trying either to relive the past or experience the future before it arrives, I have come to believe that in between these two extremes is peace. ~Author Unknown