activate

Folks, I’m not breathing in your face!  BUT Dougie (i.e. anybody can be a Dougie) says—If we are somehow or some way being part of a blessing, we are truly blessed.  He also says—A great gift is an unexpected gift (i.e. material or non- material).  This Dougie is sooooo smart!  A friend was telling me that he is aware of a father who manipulates his kids by giving them gifts of money but there are always strings attached (i.e. here is some money but you need to doooo this or act a certain way). GeorgeTheCrook says-- If there are strings attached, it’s no longer a gift but a business deal.  This might activate your gift giving.  Maybe not! FlexPersonalityBev says--It is what it is!

Our great nephew just turned 14.  That is about the age when those hormones start being activated.  Can some of you remember that far back?  LuckieEddie says—I wish I had those days over again!  I told our great nephew that 14 is the age when you know as much as your parents! Well, heavens to murgatroyed!

Jealousy is a great activator (i.e. just like calling a credit card company too active a new card). It really gets folks’ motors going (i.e. huge massive rpms) but jealousy does nutten for them except for making themselves bitter.  Crazy huh.  Soooo why then would folks be jealous? Another great motivator is the fear of failure.  That actually has two heads to it—a person can fear failure soooo they put everything they have into something to prevent failure or they have a such a fear of failure soooo they won’t try to do anything that they might experience failure at. Both fears work.  Such is life.

It activates him for the day I think. A golf buddy was telling us that his morning exercise workout activates his motor.  It’s not a drudgery task but an opportunity; I look forward to it as something pleasant. I wonder if attitude has anything to do with that. What do you think.

Another one of my golf buddies said to us recently--I play with a group of guys from church on Saturdays.  I use to beat all of them but now they seem to beat me!  Everyone likes to beat someone! Maybe he is the designated “make someone feel good golfer guy” with his Saturday church group.  Could be!  Or as he says—I need to keep playing and suck it up!  I told him he needs to play with poorer golfers or play better! Well, fiddlesticks!

Had breakfast with a friend and he told me a lot of stuff.  He is a leader in sooooo much stuff.  He is not scared to try new stuff and seems to do a good job in picking stuff that works.  He was telling me that he was working with his family in making a business decision.  He says he’s not going to be part of the business but just is an “evaluator and encourager.” He is sorta kinda patterning this process after how his dad treated him.  Huh, interesting.  I asked him what he will do today—we are putting 3 seeders on our sprayer which will cover 90 feet; we are going to top seed some of our soybeans when the leaves are just starting to fall off with oats and radishes.  You heard it folks, oats and radishes.  They are both annuals and oats will be a cover crop and the tillage radishes will produce a radish of about a foot in the ground that will act as a soil de-compacter.  Both are encouraged by the USDA and they actually help pay for new process.  Isn’t that interesting? His motor is activated!!

While biking on the trails the other day, I met a gal maybe about 20 who was multi-tasking. She was walking but also had ear buds on probably listing to music and reading a book. Wow! I didn’t see if she was chewing gum or not! While running the other morning I met a gal who was walking her dog.  She was a student of mine some 45 years ago when I taught a few years.  I reminded her that she was a good sprinter in her day—oh ya, I was until I hurt my knee in the broad jump (i.e. back then they called it the broad jump, now they call it the long jump); those sprinting days are over; I have had surgery on my knee, a total replacement and additional repair work.  Ouchy ouchy.  Then she said—I think our 440-yard relay team still help the school record before they went to meters. Folks seem not to forget some of their good memories a.k.a. some spice of life.  Such is life.

If you think when you die, you are going to die like a pig, you don’t need to read this paragraph; it’s a waste of your time (i.e. and time is important here on this earth but not in eternity).  I read this while eating my oatmeal with a half a banana on it by Oswald Chambers—As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all—we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same…The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and surrounding influence and qualities produced by that relationship.  That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is continually under attack.  That is what he says folks.  Have any questions about all that? I always do but I’m not as smart as you guys; I’m just a little old farm boy from a mile and fourth south of Roseland, MN. I think there might be more folks that know Jesus than let on (e.g. the clerk at Dollar General dropped something when I was checking out; she said, "Jesus!" Yowza!

CrazyMarvin asks—Can I revive my mind to change the default mode network?  Well, CrazyMarvin, you might think I’m a Mad Scientist but I think we can.  I think if we are mindful and take time to concentrate on mindfulness, we can change our thinking.  Crazy huh! I think we have to do it intentionally and sustain it more.  It’s not magical or it isn’t nutten new.  BUT it has to be new to us. We need to “see our thinking objectively.” Maybe it’s much like taking a vacation, taking a short break from our work, or exercising.  ItchieBitchie says—When we concentrate on being mindful, we develop a “servant mentality”; we might look at things differently and that makes us be different folks.  I really think that being mindful can really activate a person’s mind.  Bingo! Mikie says—Try it, you might like it!

It activated my pause button; yes, I did.  I was thinking some folks would react a certain way and they didn’t.  I decided it wasn’t their problem but mine.  Ouchy ouchy! Another lesson of life. Has that ever happened to you? BUT in the future I will not put as much expectation in folks.  I don’t know if that is good or bad.  What do you think? WorldClassLarry says—Folks don’t always think the same as you erv; you aren’t as important as you think you are!  Yabut WorldClassLarry, I don’t think I think I’m very important sooooo you say I’m less important than even that? Sooo, I’m really not very important you are saying. Gotcha WorldClassLarry gotcha!  I learned that once again; sometimes I get out of whack and need to be put back into reality. I just learned or relearned another lesson of life.  Such is life.

Saturday question—Is it the norm and expectation for politicians to lie! They seem to lie a lot and the folks just seem to laugh it off.  What? That blows my mind.  This is on the back of a truck of the company who is boring in our new water line in Aplington.  It made me laugh! What both Donne and Hillary say sorta kinda feels like barbed arrows shot in my brain. Such is life.

Ricky (i.e. anybody can be a Ricky) says--Your choices are far more powerful than your circumstances. You may not like how complicated your life has become. But with few exceptions, no one is forcing you to keep your life complicated. You have the power to simplify your life. As an old friend said to me—Decision have consequences. CrapShootBilly says--Folks, guess who is in charge of our decisions. TurboCarylon says—It’s just like being at Burger King—Have it your way. Such is life.

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean says--People need loving the most when they deserve it the least.

P.S. A friend told me how he said the wrong thing to a woman (i.e. worse than me I think). They were following a favorite pro golfer.  A lady was also doing the same.  They got to talking to her and found out that she was the mother-in-law of the pro golfer they were following.  He, in making conversation with her, said—I saw your daughter and see they are having another child—no no, they are done having children.  Ouchy ouchy!