Don't Pack Christmas Away Until Next Year

Evening all,

I hope that everyone is enjoying/enjoyed their holiday season. For me, it's one of the few times that I get to connect with my old friends and family so I'm particularly fond of it (plus my birthday being in December doesn't hurt either).

Anyway, I attended service at my home church the other day, and my pastor's sermon was based on doing God's work and he specifically mentioned not packing Christmas away until next year.

This struck a cord with me because so often when we are in the holiday spirit we look for ways to help others through various organizations and volunteer events. While this is great, many of these same people struggle the remainder of the year; does that mean we should ignore their needs during this time?

We're supposed to love one another, aren't we? Look at 1 John 4:7:

"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God"

I can't think of a better way to show our love than to help our fellow man.

I charge that we all of look for ways to help those in need throughout the year. Can you imagine giving somebody the feeling of Christmas year-round? I know I'd take it.

Cheers to our future efforts,

JIP

Music Revisited: Kid Cudi- Pursuit of Happiness video

We all know I'm a fan of Kid Cudi (see here). Check out his new video "Pursuit of Happiness". You gotta respect the breath of fresh air he and a few other of the newcomers are breathing into hip-hop.

John Wooden's Love Letter

We sports fans know about John Wooden's coaching prowess on the court, but maybe we should take a closer look at how he lived off of the court as well:



I don't think I can add too much to this one...

Cheers,

JIP

Food for Thought: "We'll See..."

I was watching Charlie Wilson's War the other night (good movie by the way), and Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character made reference to a story involving a zen master called "We'll See". Check it out below:

We'll See...

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.

"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.

"We'll see," the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.

"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.

"We'll see," replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

"We'll see," answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

"We'll see" said the farmer.

I take from this that you have to take life as it comes...you never know how things are going to play out. Control what you can control, and let the rest unfold as it will...you gotta let God work.

Cheers to food for thought,

JIP

Building Your Inner Circle

Good Evening All,

I know awhile back I wrote about expanding your horizons and stepping outside of your comfort zone. While this is an important aspect of all of our personal growth, it's equally, if not more, important to have a core inner circle of people.

These are the people that you truly trust and can turn to in both good and bad times, and they can easily do the same thing with you.

The toughest part of designing your inner circle is actually selecting the circlites (my word). It can be difficult to know who truly is there for you as you as opposed to what you have, your social status, or whatever other superficial reasons are out there.

Also, it can be difficult to decide who to share your personal information with, and who will keep this information confidential.

My best advice is to go with your gut feeling on this; more times than not in the process of getting to know someone they will unknowingly give out hints on their trustworthiness. You'll find that you constantly add and remove people from your circle of trust...that's just how it goes.

Good luck, and remember Proverbs 13:20 in your selection process: "Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm".

Cheers to those we can count on,

JIP

Food for Thought: "All the World's A Stage..."

Good evening, lovely people.

I'm sure that most of you have at one point or another heard the expression that draws a parallel between life and a theatrical performance. If you haven't it basically states that in life, as in theatre, when you're on stage you have to perform.

Anyhow, awhile back I ran across a monologue from one of Shakespeare's plays, "As You Like It" (read more about it here) that expounds on this topic; check it out below:

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything." — Jaques (Act II, Scene VII, lines 139-166)

I like this passage because for me it puts our mortality in perspective. True enough, life is a stage, and we will ultimately be critiqued (or judged) based on our performance.

No matter how many of these 7 stages that we are blessed enough to see, we decide what type of character we want to be during our time here and the impact that we will have on the world. We can exit as quietly as we entered, or we can do something worth mentioning during our time here.

That being said, enjoy your time on stage...that's what life is for. Do good works, be true to yourself, and be mindful of your performance...the world is watching.

Cheers to the world,

JIP

My Sincerest Apologies...

...for taking so long between posts. I could make a list of excuses, but we all know what those are.

Anyway, I have several new ideas/topics that I will be writing about soon so be on the lookout.

Cheers to us all still being here in December...a blessing indeed.

JIP