Portable Patriot

Upon my recent discovery of the dedicated reading/study task made so simple by the Kindle, I began the process of selling off my hundreds of wonderful books that simply adorn my library but rarely if ever get opened. To facilitate that I had to decide what principles I would incorporate for determining which books I would not sell. That list includes the well marked personal and spiritual growth books that I return to repeatedly for reminders of what I need to be doing next, those books I frequently loan and give out to others, and those relative few that are truly relevant to the areas where I currently focus my time. However, there are some that must be saved for posterity for their primary document value, and Portable Patriot fits that category. Pocket sized and bound with a classical "old" feel, this book includes over 60 18th and 19th century speeches, documents and sermons given by our country's founders.

In a day when history books threaten to be re-written with every new political reign, it gives me security in knowing I have some "absolute" spots to return to for discussions with my grandchildren. The awe in which these great leaders held the awareness of their Creator flows throughout. While pioneering the leaving of the predictable old world for the insecurity of the new, they clearly maintained a semblance of traditional values as they looked to the future. And reading thru repeated themes of patriotism, I can understand how our nation could survive a civil war and come out stronger. For even with the strong differences of opinions over economic foundations, all ultimately had the best of the nation in heart.

This is the kind of stuff that should be required discussions, and many of them, for every generation. It is the kind of stuff I need to insure that I can teach my descendants what it means to be an American.

Rational Thinking Options… Worse with Age?

My son Matt recently showed me a video by a gal who runs a comparative cognition lab at Yale (http://www.ted.com/talks/laurie_santos.html ). While I don't agree with all her foundations, it did make me think about what we do and in particular why. It would seem that maturity should make us more rational and hence more able to change when we see ourselves acting irrationally, but in actuality the habits formed with age, even much past 10 years of age and definitely past the teens, make change nearly impossible.

In her research Laurie Santos found that when training monkeys to use a form of money as an exchange for food, they would do irrational things that humans also do … ex: overspend when the price went down and hoard. They also discovered some differences in reactions when something was clearly safe versus when there was risk of loss attached. I saw myself in that behavior – where I had always thought I was someone who could take risks, I realized that what I perceived to be risk taking was really based on perceptions I had of safety. That when I thought I would truly lose something very important to me, perhaps someone's positive opinion, I would not take risks. I thought I had grown to the place where I could accept criticism objectively, but realized I only accepted it in areas where I knew I was absolutely right. In those cases I would smile at the criticizer, but if I was insecure about something, the criticism still threatened.

So I set out on a new study of ancient Hebrew proverbs to see what I could learn about wisdom and rational thinking. Are there principles in this book that, if I truly followed them, would allow me to know I was making intelligent decisions in every area of my life? What are those principles? And how to they apply to business, faith, family? Could I, in fact, find enough courage to change in those areas in which I know have resisted? Nancy Dornan says that when an area of one's life is out of balance, it requires radical change to bring it back in balance. There are areas of my life way out of balance – in particular physical and financial. That is my quest these next 90 days – to discover what I need to do to bring them back, to courageously operate with radical changes of wise thinking, and to close 2010 out knowing it was the year of the biggest change ever in my life. And if I can do that, truly I can help others to do the same.

Obstacles Welcome by Ralph de la Vega

While the content of de la Vega's story is highly inspirational, I would advise anyone reading this book not to give up at the beginning! With this book written by a corporate president (AT&T Mobility), not a writer, I personally found it difficult to make my way thru the somewhat simplistic writing to get to the content, often wondering why a ghost writer or co-writer wasn't employed to tell this story in a more engaging style. I knew the content was valid; I was bored with the reading. However, once I got past the fifth chapter, i found myself eagerly reading, underlining, and finding many applicable challenges to my own life and leadership.

in the end, de la Vega's accounts from the corporate view are applicable for many business minded thinkers. While feeling to me to be borrowed from John Maxwell, his leadership principles are relevant along with his challenges on giving back to the community. Given the global success of the iphone, his final chapter sharing part of that story was a fitting conclusion.

The Deepest Confidence

6 months ago when I read Proverbs 23 I wrote, "How I need wisdom, discipline, and understanding. How I need my eyes to keep to the way of the heart God has given me. How I need truth that is not compromised – in order to have that wisdom, discipline, and understanding. How I need wisdom to keep my heart on the right path. How I need for my lips to speak with is right … in every area – from meeting strangers and looking for business connections to presentations to building relationships to planting seeds of faith to driving vision and leaders."

 

Today I would come to God with overwhelming gratitude – that in these recent years of so much introspective doubt, there has come a bit of a peak when I can see where i've been and where I'm going. Of course another valley and subsequent climb lies ahead of me to get to the next peak, but what a relief it is for each of us when we can be reassured we are on track and moving in the direction of God's call on our lives.

 

While reading the Psalms can be so affirming in this area, due to David's challenges for his very life and temptation to doubt that anointing as a young man where he believed God called him to be king, but his son Solomon was the benefit of so much inherited wisdom that rarely is defeat expressed in his writing directly. On the other hand, the frequent reminders of those "7 abominations that fill the fool's heart" (Proverbs 26:25) are repeated throughout Proverbs, and that must reflect some of Solomon's own personal temptations and defeats. Knowing he has been blessed with such abundant wisdom, it must have been so difficult for Solomon to see these evidences of the fool in his own life – in his own propensity to perhaps focus on external appearances – wives and women, houses and wealth. Also blessed with the call to build the temple, he knew God was with him – but how he struggled with temptation. And in that way, could recognize those around him who also struggled and gave into defeat.

 

More than anyone, Solomon recognized that wisdom was not dichotomous, but most powerful when all the pieces of the whole synergistically worked together – all those 7 pillars set on the right foundation. What I think, what I feel, what I watch, what I listen to, what I do, where I go, where I came from (inheritance) and attention to where I am going (the ultimate fear of the Lord), they all work together to make me into the wise, discerning, loving, child of God. That knows who to listen to and what to watch, that touches people's lives by reaching out with my mouth, my hands and feet – the person I was made to be.

    

 

 

Quarreling – Absence of Logic

Solomon talks often about the quarrelsome wife – two references in Proverbs 21 – better to live on the corner of a roof than with a quarrelsome wifek, and second better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome wife. Those are quite some statements for a man who had it all in women, and spoken from the heart of a man which we know typically is much more tolerant with the weaknesses of the woman with whom he lives than the woman of him. The reason why most marriages are broken up by the woman walking away. Unless a man gets involved with another woman, he will rarely walk out of a marriage, though in any culture when a woman can live economically independent of a man, she often will walk away. It may be caused by the man's affair with another woman, but even in that circumstance, there are men who would opt to stay in a marriage and have the outside woman if they could. For them it feels like the best of two worlds.

 

So thinking about the extremes represented by the corner of the roof (poor, no influence, no comfort) and the desert (hot, lonely, thirsty), and then thinking about the woman that makes life for a man worse than these two illustrations, I was struck with the idea that quarreling is just stupid. It results in nothing. I used to think it was an emotional thing, something to do with the heart. It does usually lead to that, but it's start is just the absence of some brain pathways working correctly., No one wins, and when someone thinks they have won, they have really lost. Last night I made a directional comment to Matt, and he disagreed with me on my sense of direction. I argued, sure I must be right. He pulled up google earths on his phone to check his thinking, proceeded to draw out the illustration, and then close with google earths on my computer so I could see my error. I reluctantly said, "well you win." His immediate response, "No it's not about winning. You just confused me when you were pointing in what you said was the direction of the gas station. I would have never found it."

 

Rather than arguing, how much better would my attitude have been to have said, "Really? Are you sure? Show me." If he was wrong, we would have both known it, and if he was right, I would have been the teachable, open mind, looking to learn and discern the truth in every setting, without saying a word encouraging him for right thinking. And then, and only then, does everyone win.

What A Difference in a Day (or a few days…)

6 months ago I read this chapter and wrote of my struggle with changing habits, the feeling that each day's new goals bring some things complete, some things incomplete, that feeling of the Chinese acrobat tossing plates. This constant challenge for significance that each finds in a different way – for some the struggle towards productivity with the temptation to over commit, and in that live a life on constant defeat for all the things not done. For others the compulsive behavior to achieve that in the end always causes sacrifices with family, health, or other relationships. Still others appear to be so over concerned with pressure that they say no to anything that is uncomfortable. How many can live lives of perfect balance, accomplishing what they set out to do, rewarded in one's accomplishments and sense of personal identity?

 

Consider a clothes closet. It's full, maybe even overfilled. You bring home new homes shoes, dress, suit. There needs to be a place. Too many clothes in the closet crowds everything and causes unnecessary wrinkling at best, at minimum difficulty in finding certain things. Many women have been known to recognize that for everything new they bring home, they must give something away. The closet is relatively easy because it's visible, its contents are measurable, and certainly there is no temptation to believe that the "hanging on" of any particular item is going to make some difference in the quality of one's life over the long term.

 

But goals, desires, dreams and decisions regarding them are different. They are hidden, subtle, very few of them that shout out to one to be careful today, so many results are delayed. For the good results that delayed gratification is wonderful when it comes, but for the negative results, the consequences pop up subtley and rarely do they carry a reminder card of what sloppy decision was made that caused that consequence. And the tendency for people like me to keep overcommitting is horrendous. I might work very hard to clean up a portion of my life, but then, there I am, without thinking committing to something new. And yet I haven't begun to complete the old goals to which I already committed last month and last year.

 

I'm sure for many that's the way sin works. Just one more, and I won't need to do this anymore. For me there is a huge difference between my reading this scripture today and 6 months ago. Today I am 3 days into the beginning of a new chapter of my life because I have discovered the power of setting one goal at a time, the discernment to look at my life and recognize what is the single thing I need to change that's will most effect the future. Write everything down I desire to do. Guve credit to God for giving me those desires. Then determine one thing that will make a difference in all the rest. Focus on that until it is a routine habit. For me that was a simple system to take 5 minutes every night to plan the next day, reviewing the current day, and 5 minutes in the morning to write goals for the day, all soaked in prayer. So sleep is productive, overcommitment begins to be identified at the source, rewards come as Day 1 I checked only 1 thing off my list of 11 but it was #1, Day 2 I checked 2 things off the same list of 10 (no new list written), but by Day 3 I was beginning to think differently about my goals and myself. With 5 ½ out of 11 items checked. It seems impossible that was only yesterday – so much has changed in these 72 hours.

 

And Proverbs 21, what does it say?

 

Plans

Diligent lead to profit

Haste leads to poverty

Ultimately God's plan wins over all. No other plans, ideas can defeat his. Preparation is in the power of the person, but he alone gives the victory.

 

Results

Pursue righteousness and love? Receive prosperity and honor.

What is righteousness? Right living and thinking and acting about why God has made me.

What kind of love? Not only sacrificial for others but accepting oneself and affirming God's work in me.

Righteousness also keeps on giving. Blessed to be a blessing.

 

 

Work ethic

Feeling good and going for lifestyle "(loving wine and oil)" eliminates wealth

Sluggard's craving for pleasure and certain types of lifestyle kills him because no work with hands. Keeps craving without receiving.

 

Reinforcers and Detactors

Truth tongue (about oneself as well) brings fortune as predictably as lies (about oneself) destroy it.

Guarding mouth and tongue helps eliminate calamity – power of negative self talk and mouth.

 

 

(6 months before…)

They come in pieces, these new habits. When I sit here in the morning feeling confident I can't imagine that everything won't get done. But the steps are still slow. Supposedly I started HP yesterday and while I stayed on a protein diet all day, I accomplished nothing else on my list. We did make progress with the Beida cd, and I finished a few ERRC details, but that's it. I have so far to go. I think I need to focus on Proverbs for a while.

heart , Inheritance, - instinctual, natural habits, thinking, expectations; Mind, - intellect, knowledge; Soul, - feeling, emotions, experience; Eye,- deliberate discipline about what you see, read Ear, - deliberate choices about what you hear, speak to yourself Mouth, - what you speak to others, God, (and perhaps yourself) Feet/hands – actions, where you go, what you do

Proverbs 21 - leadership, marriage, money, planning, learning, sacrifice, inheritance

Wisdom or Folly – A Fine Line

A pivotal chapter in which Proverbs hangs, Proverbs 9 is short with a narrative format unlike most of the remainder of the book. No pithy similes, here is the simple story comparing wisdom to folly. The call is the same – both call "Let all who are simple come in here," particularly targeting those who lack judgment. Both call from the door of their homes, both homes sitting at the highest, most visible, even most respectable part of the city. From wisdom, the invitation is to come into a beautiful home, where the best banquet has been set and the maids wait to serve. But from folly, the same call is to enter a living cemetery, where the dead await, water is stolen, and food will be secretly eaten. The temptation? The sense of momentary delicious satisfaction that draws the rebellious, the one who thinks that somehow the wise way is just too simple, too boring, too restrictive. I'm reminded of the popular Chinese proverb, "Teachers open the door but you must enter by yourself." ( 师傅领进门，修行在自身.) A better translation might be that "teachers lead you to the open door, but cultivation is within yourself."

 

So what is the difference? How might this simple, judgment lacking person have the discernment to know who to follow? Folly is loud, undisciplined, and without knowledge. Wisdom, on the other hand, has carefully planned, quietly built a beautiful home, and in particular calls to those who are willing and humble enough to accept correction. How does one both know how to discern the right people to listen to, as well as take responsibility for actions?

 

I read this chapter 5 months ago when I was facing financial challenges and unsure about work. From that day to the next 3 I was to be attacked by as challenging of a work challenge as I have ever experienced. Until I walked thru that particular challenge over the next 10 days, I would be unable to look at scripture with any degree of understanding. At the time the only thing I could see from here was that humble wisdom accepts mockery, without correction or rebuke. Because in the end the banquet is waiting for those who place a priority on walking in the way of understanding, who are willing to accept teaching, especially when it includes correction and even rebuke. It is those who can experience that fear of the Lord, who can understand some knowledge of the Holy One, who will ultimately be rewarded by their wisdom, even though the way is accompanied by mockery.