Acceptance and Popularity

Why does acceptance and popularity play such an important role in our lives?

I have been reading, reviewing and throwing away old journals and pictures of my childhood as my father prepares to move after twenty years.  Pictures of youth always bring back such vivid memories: faces of old neighborhood friends, schoolmates, and photos of teachers and mentors.

These chronicles also bring back a flood of emotions:  Remembering my first date and the nervousness of the situation, or catching a string of crappies and sharing the excitement with my father.  We all have these memories and emotions stored somewhere, and my mother (much to my father's chagrin) choose to use mounds of boxes stored in the basement to capture them.

Also stored amid this clutter, however, was a reminder of an important lesson learned in both middle-school and high school which has shaped my life ever since: the futility of popularity and acceptance.

Acceptance in my life was the proverbial carrot in front of me as I entered middle school.  If well-liked, than I would be cool and hang out with the 'In' crowd.  Instead of making fun of me, kids would be making fun of other people.  Instead of being harassed on the bus, neighbors would ask me to sit next to them.  When picking teams, students would pick me to be on their team first as opposed to last.

As I entered high school, college, and even my working career, the desire for acceptance and popularity changed.  In part because of my marriage to my beautiful wife and her love for me (which I still find unbelievable), but mostly due to maturing in my relationship with Christ.

I began to understand that the sum of my actions on earth should be a reflection of Christ's love, if indeed I am going to call myself a Christian.  If that's true, then my identity and acceptance is automatically given by God's grace (Galations 2:20).  

We all have a basic need for acceptance, which is innate.  The deeper meaning of this lesson though is that regardless if you are an awkward adolscent, a confused or misplaced college student or maybe even a widow in their golden years, God will always accept you.  Because of the heroic and sacrificial life of his son Jesus, faith and trust in Him restores us back into the 'In crowd' forever.

Grace and Peace,

PLW

The Federal Banking System Explained

From time to time, I get asked questions regarding how our economy works, what is inflation, and how is our deficit spending a good thing for our economy? 

One of our readers came across this brilliant explanation of our federal system of banking so I thought I would share it with you.  

Take a listen and let me know what you think, as I think you will be a bit shocked.

Grace & Peace - PLW

The Game of Chicken

October 14th 1962, an American U-2 spy plane photographed a Soviet ballistic missile being assembled in Cuba.  President Kennedy then sent a naval blockade to intercept the Russian fleet headed to Cuba.  Had Russia crossed that blockade line, the world would have been a different place. Alas, they did not and an agreement was reached.

In the Bible. Solomon was trying to decide which mother was the rightful one of a certain baby, both claiming that the child was theirs.  Solomon ordered that the child be cut in half so that each would have the same amount.  The real mother interjected and wouldn't let him do it, which revealed the true birth mother of the child to Solomon.

Last Sunday, I lost a friend due to a sudden and massive heart attack.  His life was marked with a love for baseball, a strong sense of right and wrong, and a unique ability to tell someone exactly what he thought of them but share a beer and laugh afterwards.   

God has used the death of my friend as a reminder to this verse: 'Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes' (James 4:14).  

John F Kennedy said it well:  'For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal'

The Bible teaches that we are all God's creation, designed in His image.  He wants an eternal relationship with each of us  but sin prevents us from the presence of a holy God. God sent Jesus to cover the cost of sin and restore God's eternal relationship with us. As your friend I implore you to examine the scriptures and don't play this game of chicken with your life. As surely as there is an eternity with God, there is also an eternity without Him.  

'Choose for yourself whom you will serve... But as for me and my household, we will serve The Lord (Josh. 24:15).

Grace & Peace

PLW

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Adversity

History (and not the refashioned, inaccurate fabrications of history displayed in our public schools) is replete with examples of underdogs, particularly sports athletes that have overcome obstacles to accomplish their goals and dreams. 

Popular examples of athletes like Michael Jordan overcoming early setbacks in high school to become perhaps the greatest basketball player ever.  Adrian Peterson tearing his ACL and then leading the NFL in rushing the next year. Even Peyton Manning, who was released as the old dog to be put down peacefully by the Colts, is today closing in on a record-breaking year with the Denver Broncos.  

This week,we received news that my youngest son didn't make the 'A' team for basketball, a position that he had solidified for the previous three years.  As you can imagine, this news was met with watery eyes, heartache, and a sense of loss...all from his mother and father.

My son, despite not being thrilled the 'day of', rebounded nicely and it was business as usual the next day.  With one exception.  When I talked to him in the car briefly that evening, he simply stated that he has things he needs to work on.  That was it. No, 'My world is crumbling' or 'I'll never amount to anything' language.  It was simply accepted as fact.

I'm extremely proud of him. 

God often used those less than desirable times in people's lives to bring others into a deeper restored relationship with Him.  Consider Jacob, Joseph, Jeremiah, Moses, David, Paul, John the Baptist, the apostle Paul and the list goes on today.  

Jalen embraced the adversity.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for him!!

Grace & Peace

PLW

The Awkward Years Project

Growing up in the small town of Hutchinson, Minnesota, my acne-laced teenage years were very awkward and uncomfortable. 

As a child, I grew up in Mankato but was soon relieved of that comfortable place and moved to a booming farm metropolis of about 11k in Hutch.  Having found some popularity and success in Mankato, however, this confidence was quickly lost as I entered those very formative teenage years.

Being the new kid sometimes has its benefits: clean slate, new friends, different surroundings, and guilt-laden shopping excursions given by my mother for moving us away from our lifelong chums.  

For people that have a less relational bias, this can be an easier transition.  But for those individuals that are highly relational, like myself, it can be less than favorable.  

Public acceptance in a foreign culture, I quickly found, was not easy.  I also observed a universal truth playing itself out: kids can be mean, and will be mean, and will often be mean until they mature, which for boys can sometimes be well into their 30's.

This brings me to October being National Bullying Prevention Month.  While the thought of attempting to legislate sound moral behavior in teenagers is laughable, I do applaud their efforts bringing into light a growing area of concern.

US teenagers account for about 4400 suicides per year (source), with a higher likelihood in teenage females vs. males.  While a recent Yale study (see link here) stopped short of reporting a direct link between bullying and suicide, the study did report that bullying victims were 2 to 9 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts. 

I really can't say that I had suicidal thoughts as a young teenager, but the encouraging words of my parents and friends helped a great deal during those more difficult days.

Ultimately, this brings me to something I ran across called 'The Awkward Years Project'.  These are individual stories that perhaps some of my readers can identify with.  I found them both encouraging and inspiring.

For my small part, I will continue to encourage kids (including my own) to seek the Lord on all occasions, follow their passions, ignore the naysayers and bullies, choose love instead of hate, and build up others versus tearing them down.  After all, life is short and God has made us exactly the way we are for His very precise purpose.

Grace & Peace

PLW  

 
 

Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky was in the news talking about the recent NSA debacle and publicity around the government's breach of privacy.

Here is the video..

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2472836836001/is-the-nsa-monitoring-emails/

Your thoughts?

Grace & Peace.

Coming soon - Maryland v. King discussion

2013 Minnesota Gophers, RIP

History has taught me to be pessimistic about pre-season standings, especially for my favorite teams. Last year, it was my OU Sooner football team. This year, the Gopher Mens Basketball team. And once again, they have affirmed my suspicions as they fall to unranked Nebraska 53-51, cementing their chances for an NIT bid.

Coming into the season, my friends and colleagues volleyed various choruses like 'it's different this year' and 'we've finally got some shooters and Mbakwe back'. As they started posting early conference wins against ranked teams like Michigan State, Illinois, and recently Indiana, I thought maybe the prognosticators had it right. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.

In last night's re-run of 'The Night of the Living Dead', the Gophers returned to their former out-of-synch offense and horrible road performance in front of the scant attendance from the home of the Bugeaters (Cornhuskers for those of you needing some Big 12 trivia).

Question: what do the numbers .380, .231 and .500 represent? That would be the Gopher's field goal, three point, and free throw percentages respectively from last night. My 7th grade boys basketball team puts up better numbers than that on a consistent basis.

As a team, the Gophers are a horrendous 1-7 in conference play on the road, losing to Big 10 'powerhouses' such as Northwestern and Nebraska, who have combined conference wins of 8. Offensively, the Gophers are shooting 38% from the field on road conference games.

So what's the moral to this story?

Go out, root for the team, enjoy the company of others, be amazed at Rodney Williams's high-flying acts, but don't buy into the hype until the Gophers (and the Sooners) find suitable coaching replacements.

PLW

Harland Dietrich (RIP)

"...the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28 ESV).

Harland Dietrich was a friend with a warm smile, an engaging spirit, and a servant to others.

I first met Harland on the basketball court at Lifetime Fitness in Maple Grove where we had some nice lunch-time battles. Harland was very accepting of others, fiercely competitive, but always had a smile on his face, whether it was masking his frustration at my tenacious defense or grinning due to making another of his patented scoop layups. I remember talking to my friend Ryan after being humiliated by Harland's game-winning antics and saying 'How does he make those?'.

After awhile, I stopped playing at noon but met up again with him at Granite City and later Crave Restaurant in St. Louis Park where he served. Harland would always come over and discuss life, typically asking more about my family, work, etc. than divulging his own circumstances.

Yesterday, I was extremely saddened to read this article (http://www.startribune.com/local/west/189567501.html) but even more horrified to see my friend's name and face.

Admittedly, I didn't know Harland as well as i would have liked but Harland's legacy of a servant lifestyle, his Christ-like example of putting other's needs before his own will last in my memory.

The apostle Paul speaks about this when he said, 'Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others' (Philippians 2:4).

This tragedy brings to light the brevity of this life. With the recent passing of my mother and now my friend, I feel compelled to ask my readers about their eternal destiny and to humbly request that you consider the claims of Christ, and know without a doubt that you are deeply loved by God.

Grace and Peace to the Dietrich family.

PLW