System Trouble

Why is it when things don’t go our way we often think someone is out to get us?

More times than not, I believe most of us want to do the right thing.  We don’t want to break the law. However, sometimes abiding by the rules can be complicated.

A few weeks ago, an alarm sounded without cause when I tried to enter a building at work.  Despite all my efforts I couldn’t turn off the annoying noise. Then a message came onto the screen of the alarm that read: SYSTEM TROUBLE.  Fortunately, I was only inconvenienced and got into the building through another door.  Aptly put, however, system trouble is another way to describe situations when things aren’t going our way.

For example, while still an exterminator years ago, there was a day I was running behind and thought I would take a short cut. That shortcut cost me a hefty fine.  While in my bug truck, which was stick shift, I was driving up a hill and did a California stop.  One where you come to almost a stop but keep moving so you don’t have to use your clutch as much.

However, there was a cop sitting there and I got busted.  He waved me over to a spot behind three or four other offenders, so he could write me a ticket.  As I sat in my bug tuck the officer kept apologizing knowing the ticket would put me behind schedule.  It left me feeling frustrated and a bit jaded toward authority.

Recently, I got another citation for unintentionally parking somewhere an authority figure felt was illegal.  The only reason I was even in the town was to help someone else out, which just added to my irritation level.  My hope was  the young officer who ticketed me would show a little  mercy, nevertheless there was none in his ink.  Definitely some system trouble, no need to get a little guy like me.

Needless to the say, I was wrong. When I truly think about system trouble, I think I am my own worst enemy.  For example, the other day I couldn’t find one of my favorite pens and wasted nearly half an hour trying to find it.  Dumb me.  In that case, system trouble began with my poor mindset

What I discovered that day was when I deem it worthy I don’t mind wasting time.  However, when someone or something cost me time or money it often infuriates me.  Then on top of it, I often waste time complaining about it and let it rule my thoughts.  A friend once said if we got a ticket every time we drove illegally, we’d all be broke.  He was right.

 As long as there are humans there will always be some kind of SYSTEM TROUBLE

Swavel

Destructive Appetite

Termites can be a homeowner’s worst nemesis, just like bitterness is the arch enemy of a broken heart. 

It has been my experience in life that we tend to ignore things that could be harmful, until we notice the damage. This is most definitely the case with termites that eat away at the foundation of a house costing the homeowner his peace of mind and quite a bit of money.  Bitterness also can cause significant damage as it eats away at your soul, often causing anger and irreparable harm to others and self.  Both are curable if treated in time.

For example, since I used to be a termite technician, over the years I’ve been in over a hundred basements.  During that tenure, I’ve seen where termites and their destructive appetites have eaten over half of the house’s foundation.  I’ve also seen when they were just in the beginning stages and when a mud tube was found.  In these cases, the termites didn’t surface again because the exterminator heavily treated the area with industrial strength termiticide.  With close scrutiny they are manageable, however if you ignore the warning signs they can do serious damage.

 Here are a few tips to alert you about termites:

- During the spring or early summer, be on the lookout for what appears to be flying insects in your doorway or basement, which swarm and then suddenly die.  Examine a few closely and see if they look like a cigar with wings.  A cigar with wings is a termite swarmer, if it has a pinched a waist it’s an ant swarmer.  If they are a termite swarmer you should call an exterminator for an inspection.  

- From time to time, when in the basement, check if there are any exposed beams and look for mud like tubes.  If so, be sure not to ignore it.  Take action by calling a professional for a inspection so he can  discover if there are live termites still active  in that tube. 

-If you buy or have bought a house which has been treated for termites you need to do some research.  Call or talk to the previous owner and get the run down on any paper work he might have as proof of past termite activity.   Houses with treated termite damage will sell as long as you are honest to the buyer about it.

So, as to give you clarity regarding our friend the termite, here’s a little pest anatomy. Termite workers are the class of termite that eats wood, are milky white, blind, and hate the light. Termites have a keen sense of smell, excellent hearing and stay underground as they spend their time finding wood to take back to the colony.  It takes a while for them to do significant damage to a structure, but once you have them in your structure you need to evict them and then take preventive measures to keep them out. 

Which brings me back to this: Bitterness is like a colony of termites.  At first, it bothers us and we wish we didn’t feel that way.  But, after a while we drop our guard and it begins to attack our foundation and steal our joy.  When someone becomes bitter often they become despondent or just plain mean.  Which often results in losing touch with those we love and makes it nearly impossible for their broken hearts to mend correctly.

This is too bad because the people who care about you are the ones who can help point out bitterness and help you eradicate it.  By all means don’t lock all the doors of your house and keep everyone out. 

To eliminate a destructive appetite you need to stop being bitter and invest in getting better.  

Swavel

 

 

Nodding Off

 

Make up your mind to do something and then do it.

 

The term nodding off is a common one.  However, it is something that till just the other day I have never really been able to define.  My definition of nodding off is when you dip your head in agreement with someone else during a moment of urgency.

 

Here is my list of six regarding the term nodding off:

 

1 Just the other day, I was at my middle daughter’s sixth grade graduation when I saw something very relevant.  As the kids came into the auditorium from the hall they were coming in by twos   as they walked toward the center aisle.   Then they paused, then nodded to each other in agreement and then proceeded down the aisle together.  It was like ushers in a wedding, using a silent mechanism to get in sync.

 

2 Another example is when you come to a four way stop sign and both vehicles get there simultaneously.  It’s that terse moment when both drivers look at each other and then one gestures or nods their head, giving the other the right of way. Nothing spoken, much accomplished, consideration expended.

 

3 The negative connotation of nodding off is the one I do just about every night around 9 pm, while trying to watch TV with my wife. Although annoying, I believe it is the result of waking up early in the morning to go to work. Some nights, instead of falling asleep, I just go to bed.  In my mind though, I will try to fight nodding off just so I can be next to my wife.

 

4 My favorite personal example of nodding off is from when I used to play flag football with my friends.  When I used to play receiver I could just look and nod at my brother-in –law, Ed, who was the quarterback, and he knew I would get open for him. It was unsaid, but quite effective.  On one given day, the two of us used this to perfection to whoop our teenage sons in a game of two on two football.   Peyton Manning, who plays for the Denver Broncos, does something similar to nodding off when he yells OMAHA to call a play and then waves his arms around like he’s playing charades.

 

5 Parenting in many ways is a great illustration of nodding off.  When my wife and I are out with the kids in public sometimes there is no time to be verbal. A quick hand signal can alert the other spouse to leap into action.  Gestures and non-verbal skills can often be imperative between parents to keep things running smoothly.  Inmates can never run the asylum. 

 

6 Last but not least, there is the nod to God.  To me it’s pretty simple as I seek to follow Him. At times, God asks me to do something that according to human reasoning seems crazy.   God can do anything He wants, although often He requests us to nod in agreement before He performs whatever miraculous task that is at hand.  Simply stated this is called faith.

 

Nodding off is the first step in ultimately succeeding at what you set out to do.

 

Swavel

Breathing Happiness

Happiness is a choice.

Kids say the darnedest things. Just a week or so ago my dentist was relaying a story to me, while fitting me for a crown.  During the procedure I was asked if I wanted anesthesia and when I declined it triggered her memory.  She said there was once a little girl patient she administered laughing gas to and described it like this: breathing happiness. That got me to thinking.

This past weekend, my family and I spontaneously decided to go to an amusement park.  As I observed people throughout the day, I noticed many folks who looked worn out, like life had gotten the best of them. The way they held themselves and the looks on their faces all seemed to scream that they were just trying to get by and make it through the day. I could sympathize since I knew the symptoms, because I once was like them.

Many years ago, I doubted I would ever be truly happy again. I was in the midst of a personal crisis and nothing seemed good at the time. Unfortunately I focused on the bad and was living a lot like Eeyore. My problem was that in response to tragedy I thought I needed to live life soberly. 

Living happily doesn’t mean you aren’t struggling, it just means you are not allowing it to run your life.  You fall down, brush yourself off, and get back up. No one wants to be around a Debbie Downer all the time. Adversity will change you, but make it be for the better.

Sometimes, when I get into a funk I try to name as many things as I can that made me happy recently. Here is some happiness I breathed in during the past week:

1- Kissing my wife. 2- Spending time with my kids. 3- Enjoying an amusement park with family. 4- Still having a job. 5- Reading baseball box scores. 6- Knowing both my vehicles are working. 7- Blogging once a week. 8- Receiving a new Starbucks mug from a friend. 9-Drinking coffee from said mug. 10- Eating Planters’ peanuts my wife got me. 11-Knowing God loves me despite me. 12-Hearing the birds sing in the morning. 13-Doing research for  fantasy football 14- Having pants that fit 15- Spending time in my nothing box

Why waste today, instead breathe in the happiness.

Swavel

Just sing

 

The Star Spangled Banner is intended to leave you with a lump in your throat.

Since we are celebrating Memorial Day it seems appropriate to discuss the Star Spangled Banner.  We all have pet peeves.  One of my biggest ones has to be when people who sing the National Anthem during a sporting event and try to make it their own.  My advice, which I often voice from my living room in the general direction of the TV, is just sing.

The song, in my opinion was meant to encourage the country, not to exalt an individual.  Not time to make it your own and bring attention to yourself and help give you career a boost.    

In 1990, Roseanne Barr showed us how not to sing the national anthem before a baseball game with an embarrassing performance laden with inappropriate humor.  Meanwhile, Whitney Houston showed her country the right way before Super Bowl XX when she brought the house down with stirring and most memorable rendition.  Since the National Anthem was written in reverence, it should be sung as such.

Here’s a little history.  For many years, I thought the Star Spangled Banner was written during the Revolutionary War.  However I was mistaken, it was actually written during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812, in which we fought the British. 

The Francis Scott Key, who was a thirty five year old attorney at the time, was in the act of successfully helping a client be freed from the British.  However, he was detained by the British because the siege on Fort McHenry was under way.  It was there aboard a neutral vessel, about eight miles away, that the song writer was given a bird’s eye view of the American Fort .

Despite Great Britain’s best attempt to seize the city of Baltimore, by firing upon it ceaselessly for twenty five hours, they could not overtake the Americans.  Swept up by the moment of seeing the flag at Fort McHenry still flying as the smoke cleared in the morning, Francis became inspired and began to write. Thus in an act of pride, Key penned the patriotic words we now know as the Star Spangled Banner.

I don’t know about you, but I get a lump in my throat whenever I hear these words:  And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there ;O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Play ball.

The best way to pay tribute to a song writer is to just sing it the song as it was intended.

Swavel

 

Bacon On Monday

          

Make sure your exit strategy for eternity is undersigned by Jesus.

Just a little while ago, my family and I flew into Texas for my son’s graduation weekend.  It was there at the hotel check-in counter I had an epiphany.  As the manager handed my credit card back to me she made mention of complimentary breakfast and  then she uttered this celestial announcement:  Bacon on Monday. 

The words hung in the air like I had just won the lottery.    Who doesn’t love bacon, especially the free kind, and nothing would be better on our last day before a long flight home to Pennsylvania.

Needless to say, the Bacon on Monday was alright, but in many ways it sounded better than it actually tasted.   It got me to thinking though that so many of us are living our lives, me included,  like how we make and eat bacon, leaving a greasy mess.  Many of my relationships, and how I do things when I do my own thing, leave a lot to be desired.  Consequently, I have left a lot of smudges.

Come to think of it, so many of us are so set on doing our own thing and when we get what we want, like that bacon, we are disappointed.  Simply put, heaven is better than anything we can come up with on our best day, even bacon.

Here is my exit strategy on how to live life, while trying to avoid the smell of the bacon, better known as the cares of this life:

Pursue Jesus so closely that you have to hang on to His shirt tail, so that all you can see is His light.  Similar to when I take off my glasses and wander down the halls at work , while I  just keep following the florescent lights overhead.  It never fails; I always end up at one of those bright orange exit signs leading me to the way out.

Truth be told, no one gets out of this life alive: we all die.  Therefore, we all should have an exit strategy when it comes to death, so as to make the most of each precious day we have.

Meeting Jesus is so much better than Bacon on Monday; you’ll forget it was even an option.

Swavel    

 

Rise Above

If every father told his son he was proud of him the world would be a much better place.

Just last weekend, my favorite and only son, Jordan, graduated from LeTourneau University located in East Texas.  I will not mince words, I am proud of him.  

On Facebook there were many who felt a similar sense of pride for my son and a few who greatly admired his ability to persevere so well. Graduating college is huge, but I am even more pleased with how Jordan is learning to rise above life’s difficulties. 

Consequently, during Jordan’s graduation on May 3^rd the guest speaker even inadvertently spoke about how to rise above.  He stood behind the stage’s lectern and made it profusely clear to the students that he believes there are three people in life.  In a way, he was telling the graduates what he thought they needed to do to rise above and be successful in life. 

First, he mentioned that you can be a victim and allow life to make you feel small and overwhelmed when things don’t go your way.  Second, he stated that you can be a manager and try to stay one step ahead of life by planning ahead and living within reason comfortably.  Or thirdly, you can be leader of change, who is willing to take risks and make a difference with his life.

 He made it clear that only the last was truly successful.  The speaker then shared his own difficult life experience and how he overcame it and now was a successful CEO of a large energy company.  Moments later, my wife, two daughters and Jordan’s girlfriend watched as Jordan crossed the stage and became a graduate from LeTourneau, where he had diligently invested the last five years of his young life.  It was a short walk to celebrate a long accomplishment in his life and I have never been more proud of a young, yet so mature young man.

When it comes to rising above one last image of my son looms large. This memory has to do with a red sweatshirt he used to wear often during his high school years on the basketball team. It was a sweatshirt with Michael Jordan’s image on it soaring high above the rim, just like one displayed at the top of this article, which screamed rise above it.  Jordan does not play organized basketball anymore, nor do I believe he has that red sweatshirt. However, I hope and pray that his drive is to be the best at whatever he does, is like Michael Jordan used to exhibit on the basketball court. 

My son’s graduation reminds me that there comes a moment in all our lives, despite the adversity, that we must not give in to difficulty and will ourselves to rise above it.  My son’s actions have proven at least to me that he has chosen the later. We cannot force or produce results in our children.  However, we can fan the flames with the appropriate praise and encouragement when the fire is in full blaze

To rise above our adversity is never a once and done kind of thing, rather it needs to become common place kind of thing.

Swavel

 

Waking up

 

 

In a perfect world all the mornings would begin at 10 am.

To be honest, I hate waking up in the mornings.  However, I tolerate them.  So, my tried and true method, to at least get through, is drinking coffee and lying to myself. Then, the other week I made a profound discovery about waking up that encouraged me.

Just a week or so ago, I went on an architectural scavenger hunt to Center City Philadelphia with my eleven year old daughter and her class from school. My favorite part of the trip had to be walking around inside the historic Wannamaker Building.  Much to my delight there just happened to be a Starbucks coffee house inside. So, we took our place in line and waited.

After a ten minute wait, it was our turn.  During the interval I overheard the barista say something about waking up the customer’s cookie in front of us.  So, when I ordered a coffee for myself and a cookie for my daughter, I made it a point to have him repeat what he had just said. With a smile he repeated this phrase, “Do you mind if I wake up the butter in your cookie?”  My daughter exuberantly said, “Yes,” and he took her cookie warming it up for her in the microwave.  He was right; it certainly did taste better with the butter awakened.

My newly acquainted friend at Starbucks inadvertently reminded me that at times like these, we all need some waking up. However, as stated previously, waking up for me throughout my life has never been a strong suit.  Even when I am awake I still am not totally lucent.  For example, every morning I get up a half hour early, drink some coffee, pray a little and check on some sports’ scores.  Then I can embrace the morning much better and with much more clarity.

Yet, although I struggle with waking up, I believe it is an imperative in all our lives to be more intentional with how we spend our time.  We all need to be at our best for our own sakes and for those we interact with on a daily basis.  We need to be the best listeners.  We need to be kinder and gentler, while being less harsh.  We need to love like there is no tomorrow, especially when it comes to our loved ones.

So, regardless of whatever means you must use to be more awake and alert in your relationships I would implore you to keeping engaging those around you.  To be ignorant and sleepwalk through life should never be an option. 

Wake up and don’t let the barista at Starbucks be nicer to the ones you love than you are.

Swavel