Blogging is Hard Work! – and Eight Things

I feel just a bit guilty that WordPress has allowed me access to this site and all I can do is one measly  blog every three months.  I was reading my bro’s blog tonight and I realized my shortcomings in the blogoshpere.  By my estimation, he is much more comfortable placing his thoughts, feelings and opinions in print than am I.  His blogs are entertaining, thought provoking and full of genuine statements.  I have to say, I admire his style.  With this being said, I am going to steal from him what he apparently stole from someone else.  I am going to list off eight things about myself.  I hope anyone reading will stick with this because it could be good, bad or ugly (what else are you going to do right now anyway?)  Here goes.

The Eight Most Important People (sort of) in My Life

1.  My Wife – What can I say about the woman who has devoted nearly half her life to loving only me.  Only that God created her for me.  I do not pretend to have super powers in the arena of dating or relationships, because for me it happened so early and young that it could have only been something that was meant to be.  All she has done for the past 14 plus years is be my right hand.  I cannot imagine life without her and I am a better man for having her in my life.

2.  My Son – I don’t expect anyone without children to fully understand what I am about to say.  Real joy and meaning in life comes from children, biological or adopted.  Before I became a father I didn’t know that anything was missing from my life.  Now that I am a father, I would never go back to the way it was, not ever.  To have a front row seat to the development and growth of this little person is amazing, but when you factor in the ridiculous amount of love that accompanies this miracle of life then the experience is overwhelming.  To hear him say “Daddy, I love you” is all I need to soothe even the worst day ever.  Sometimes I can’t believe God ever gave this little boy to me and all I can do is thank him daily.

3.  My Son-On-The-Way – I have yet to meet him or even give him a proper name but I know his importance in my life.  As I witness the growth of the newest member of my family I find myself becoming more and more excited at the possibilities the future holds.  He will be a blessing to our family, a loving son for me and my wife, a trusted brother to our first son.  Hopefully he will be a wonderful friend, a great husband, father or uncle.  All of these things I dream for him and yet he is not born into this world.  I will pray for him daily and anticipate that first glance and cry.

4.  My Mom – For those who read Maxx’s blog you know the struggles of the past year with regard to our mom.  For all my life my mom has held a special place but even as I type these words I know that the way I value her today is much different than before she got sick.  I will never forget where I was when the phone rang and the news came about her being in the hospital in Brooklyn.  I will also never forget the panic that set in my heart the moment I realized the reality of the situation.  Plain and simple I thought, “I may have seen my mother for the last time in this life!”  Since that day I have spent more time in her presence or talking with her on the phone than in the past five years or more combined.  Despite the debilitating effects of the cancer and the treatments she is clear and on the very real path of full recovery.  Also, she will never just be plain-ol-mom anymore, she is way to valuable for that.

5.  My Dad – All I can say about my dad is that he was, is and will always be there for his kids.  There will always be a sense of his leading our family and being the undisputed “man of the house”.  I mean he could probably still beat me in arm wrestling despite the fact that I am half his age, six inches taller and outweigh him by at least seventy pounds.  Like I said, he’s my dad and he has shaped my life more than anyone in the world.

6.  My Bro – Who am I kidding, I had to put him on this list because he is probably going to read it.  Of course that was just a joke.  This past weekend he stayed a couple of days with us and he and I got to hang out.  First of all he is a great brother.  For many years I was a struggling youth pastor and he was around alot to provide a helping hand or just a gut-busting laugh.  Second he is a better uncle.  My son loves to crawl on, jump on and simply attack his uncle and all Maxx does is love the little dude more and more.  If there are any ladies reading this particular part of the blog and you are interested in Maxx please hear this – the man will be a great father someday, I’ve seen him in action.

7.  My Sis – My older sibling holds a special place in my life because I have learned so much from her.  She taught me about being and unconditional parent – being there for your kids no matter the circumstance.  She also taught me about independance and personal responsibility.  She was the first of the kids to drive, date, move out, get married, have kids so on and so forth.  She was our pioneer so to speak.  I will always admire her strength and her accomplishments.  She loves her family more than anything and that makes her important to me.

8.  My Dog – We have a seven-year old black lab (with a little bit of chow in him) .  If you don’t like dogs or pets in general let me say you’re not stupid, just ignorant.  My dog really is my best friend.  He is always happy to see me, he listens to everything I say.  I can complain to him, play in the backyard or just sit and watch TV while he lays by my side, never less than fully devoted to me.  I truly believe that people with pets have better lives and that without them life would be imcomplete.  There is an old joke that goes like this, “If you ever question the line – Dog is man’s best friend – just lock your wife and your dog in the trunk of a car, after fifteen minutes come back, open the trunk and see which one is happier to see you.”  One word for that statement – True.

Well my list is complete – almost.  At the beginning I said “sort of” and that is because there is one person that encompasses my entire life that cannot simply be placed on a list.  Please don’t stop reading, this next part is just as important as the previous 1200 words.  Jesus Christ is the single most important person in my life.  My reasoning is simple and complicated all at the same time.  Christ died and then rose from the dead to set me free from the one part of my life that I cannot control or overcome, my sin.  Without Christ I probably would not have many or any of the people on my list.  Without Christ my life would be without hope, joy or love.  It is becuase of his life, death and resurrection that I know the final outcome of my life.  His importance in my life cannot be measured by emotions, because it is not just an emotional connection I have to him.  To say it simply he is my life force and drives me to be and do better every day.

This turned out to be more than I originally planned.  I hope you feel like reading this blog was worth your time.  If nothing else, hopefully it helped you think on the most important people in your life and maybe, just maybe you’ll pick up the phone and call one of those people just to say hi or even to tell them how important he/she is to you.  God Bless!

Pay Attention — People are Dying!

Once again we find ourselves questioning the sanity of our society and our world, as we face yet another multiple killing on the campus of an institution of higher education.  What strikes me most about these situations is the relative ease with which this disturbing practice continually occurs.  After more than enough examples of unstable individuals taking matters into their own hands, shouldn’t it be more difficult for this to happen?  But no, it seems to me that it is something that happens more frequently now than ever.  In addition these types of things used to be isolated to schools, but in the past year we’ve seen people shot and killed in churches, at malls and at work.  Where does it end?

The answer to this may lie in the same place that holds the meaning of life – and by this I mean we may never be able to stop it.  The real question for you and I to ponder may be:  What am I going to do to prepare myself and those around me for a sudden and tragic loss of life?  I know this may sound cliche or terse but the realization should be that there are no guarantees in this life.  You could die tonight with little or no warning and then what?  Are there things left undone in your life right now?  Do you have a “bucket list” so to speak (you know things to do before you kick the bucket)?  Who needs to know you love them?  Who needs to hear you say “I’m sorry” or “I forgive you”?  If you died tonight what would you regret doing or not doing?

I don’t know that life is all that simple for most people but it seems to me that the more you simplify things the better they are.  With that said:  Pay attention — people are dying!  Will you be next?

 God Bless

21st Century Politics — A Game We Cannot Win!

Let me begin by asking you a series of questions.  What do you hope for in the coming national election?  Do you hope for sweeping changes in policy and direction?  Do you hope to continue the battle against terrorism and tyranny?  Do you hope that somebody in the government will pay all your bills so that you can do whatever you please?  What is it that you hope for and what will you waste your vote on?  I know what I will waste my vote on, but I will not divulge this information for the appearance of being objective.  Right about now I have some of you angry and some of you interested and with this in mind I shall continue.

That is right, I used the word “waste” to describe your and my vote this coming November.  You will probably chastise me by saying that our “vote” is what makes America what it is.  It is what makes us the greatest country in the world, the fact that we can choose - by our own free will - our leaders and policy makers.  If this is the case then why is the country of Iraq in such a mess.  Haven’t they held multiple “free” elections in the recent months?  What about the countless other countries around the world that hold “free” elections.  Why do these countries not claim to be the greatest in civilization?  What exactly is the power of voting, at least in today’s world?

I can tell you that I voted successfully in every general and primary election that have been available to me since I became a registered voter at the tender and ignorant age of eighteen.  I have always voted for the candidate that best represents my values, beliefs and the direction I would like to see my city, state and country take.  I have voted for winners and losers alike and one thing stands out as the result of my vote.  My city, state and country are still not headed in a direction that pleases me.  This sounds like a selfish statement but isn’t that the idea behind voting.  Giving power to every citizen to have a voice in the direction of our society.  Yet somehow in every election there are millions of people represented by losers in the game of politics.  That’s right, in November tens of thousands of you will vote for the loser!  You will not win, your candidate will lose and you will go unrepresented on the national stage for at least the next four years.  There is something quite unsettling about that, don’t you think?  It doesn’t matter what side your on, at some point you will lose and your idea of success will lose as well.  On top of that, you don’t really have a voice in the government anyway.  The only real influence in our national government is the ridiculously wealthy and the major players in the world of business (and that is on both sides of the isle).  At this point you probably think that I am some kind of anarchist that believes in a true government of the people.  I couldn’t be further from that.

 I do not think we should scrap the system of democracy or that we should stop holding elections.  I do believe these are foundational parts of our country’s design and of our society.  I do, however, think that there needs to be a fundamental change in how our elections are accomplished.  We the people of the United States of America need to reclaim the process of selecting our leadership from the tyrannical two-party political system.  The two parties of our political system are severely failing in the process right now.  There is a destructive tear down the middle of our beloved country that pits our citizens against one another.  Our society is polarized to the point of implosion.  Do you think I’m crazy or wrong?  Then you should listen to talk radio or watch the programs on CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc…for one week and then see if you can claim that America is united in its direction. 

I have gotten a little jacked up on this subject and it is time to put a lid on it.  I am proud to live in the greatest country in the history of the world.  I thank God everyday that he blessed me with freedom and choice.  I love my city, my state and my country and I would be willing to die for the beliefs and ideals that we are founded upon.  However I do know one thing.  If we don’t reign in our elected officials and their lust for power and influence then we the citizens will pay the price and quite frankly I’m not prepared to foot that bill.  Thanks for reading.

 God Bless!

The Friend Test!

I have spent a couple of days contemplating the subject of my first ever blog post.  I wondered if it should tackle a major social issue or take to task a prominent public figure.  Then again maybe it should be about sports, at least the ones that I love to watch and participate in.  After all the Super Bowl was just yesterday.  But no, none of these topics would do for my maiden voyage into the sea of internet writing.  Do I dare write about myself.  Yes!  In fact I have decided my first post must be personal.  Maybe introspective or even a bit critical, but definitely personal.  So here goes.

 Are you a good friend?  I have always thought of myself in this light.  I pictured my friendships being mutually rewarding and beneficial.  I love my friends and in each one there are great qualities that enrich my existence.  I like to think they feel the same about me.  I am a nice person with a good sense of humor.  I am respectful and caring when around my friends.  I smile and return greetings and in many cases I will stop and chat for several minutes when I run into one of my friends out and about.  I do take care to pay attention to the surface level of my friendships, but does all this make me a good friend?

I can tell you after some soul-searching and looking back over my short life-span I have decided that overall I am just an average friend.  I can tell you that there have been certain circumstances of awesome friendship on my part.  I have pulled more than one guy out of a ‘bad’ situation and I have given any-time-of-day assistance to female friends with car trouble.  I’ve even picked up some friends whose car died and they couldn’t get away after they let the air out another person’s tires.  In some case I have been there for my friends.  My biggest problem with my ‘friend’ skills mostly comes to this.  I suck at sticking around.

I will give you an example.  I have two friends (who shall remain nameless) that I have allowed to slip away over the past five or so years.  These were my guys.  The three of us were inseparable for a good portion of ten or so years.  We went to church together, played ball together, fought together, lived together and worked together.  We were like brothers without the sibling rivalry.  We were even in each other’s weddings.  As Forrest Gump would say, we were like peas and carrots.  Then after we were all married we got separated geographically.  We no longer worked together or lived together or got to see each other much.  As the years have passed these two men have slowly slipped out of my life and today they might as well be complete strangers.  I have had a couple of phone conversations with them in the past year or two, but I haven’t seen these guys, my best friends, face to face for over three years!  I let this happen and it feels like crap.  I love these guys and yet I chose to neglect our friendship and for what? 

Well I would venture a guess that many of you deal with this same issue.  You see there is this little thing called life and it happens to all of us on a daily basis.  We get married, buy a house, have kids, get full-time jobs and suddenly five or so years have passed and we look around and things have changed.  Now don’t get me wrong, life is good.  I have the greatest family a man could ever ask for.  I have great friends that I love and have fun with, but what I am talking about is something more.  True, great friendships should last the test of time and life.  I would give anything to have these two guys in my life today.  We would be having some great times together and making lasting memories, but because of my lack of ‘sticking around’ that is not how things are.

Well I have written almost seven-hundred words about my sucky friend skills and I am sure you’re saying to yourself, ‘please wrap this up lame-o’.  I will end with a promise.  No more drifting apart.  I will get better at sticking around and I will start today.  I will even try to get back in touch with my ‘brothers’, if for nothing else to help myself become a better friend.  Hopefully this will inspire you to do the same.

 God bless!

Hello world!

Hello WordPress community. Albert Power here (Maxx’s older, but wiser brother)! I am making the decision to let go and blog. This is a new outlet for me and it may take some getting used to, but with your help I know it will be a smashing success. Hopefully you will find something useful, funny, challenging or otherwise interesting in my posts. If nothing else, maybe someone will be entertained during a mindless surf on the web. At any rate, I thank you for opening your community and allowing me to join in! God bless!