Jack LaLanne? Still around?

Last I read he was 94 and still working out 2 hours/day. Puts me to shame.

See Jack LaLanne.com

When will the book come out? That’s a line I don’t hear very often, in fact not at all.

Over the years I have had 5 ideas for a book. We if I count the one from the day before yesterday, that makes 6.

I have started each of these books and made it through the first paragraph then suddenly realized that I am not a writer. You, my loyal readers, well, you already knew that.

So why is this lame idea coming at me again? I don’t know but maybe if I just pursue it…

In common usage respect has many of these connotations:

• morally to revere;
• to swell up (to be proud of);
• to lift;
• to value;
• to desire;
• to express costliness (as in pricelessness);
• to give weight to (a good thing on a balance scale);
• approve of;
• to invert (or do the opposite of what is expected);
• honorable;
• precious.

Antonym = to think against; to despise; to devalue.

I don’t believe there’d be any disagreement that respect is given. It can’t be taken.

In common practice respect is earned. But what is the price?

Therein lies a problem. If I only need show my respect when it’s earned by you, then you have a moving target. You give me what I need and I’ll give you what you crave. Creating a win-win relationship can never be around an I’ll do, if you do attitude. Best I can do with that is meet somewhere in the middle of mediocrity.

By “being”, for good or for bad, everyone is worthy of respect. Do they earn it? Nope. Sad to say most of us don’t, and sometimes are at a place where we’re unable to. Truth is none of us can measure up – consistently, all the time. There are times when I flat out don’t deserve respect. But when it’s withdrawn from me, I tend to do more things that are undeserving of respect, initiating a vicious cycle in which there are NO winners.

Inherently I know this. I know I “should” respect a police officer, the mayor, the president. But when it comes right down to it I withdraw that respect because MY needs are not being met. Isn’t that what it’s all about – I’ll give it when I’m getting? My withdrawal of respect by saying “You’re not worthy of it at this moment” is nothing more than saying “I don’t think you deserve it.” How selfish can I be? If others did this to me when I didn’t deserve respect it would tend to cause me to act out of rejection – and that doesn’t instigate goodness in me.

From a scriptural standpoint, respect is given “because.” It’s not conditional. For me to give someone respect that does not deserve it is the surest way to reach them. Does not guarantee they’ll live up to it? No. But to withdraw respect is a surefire way to bring out the worst in someone.

I can choose to be selfish or selfless. I can choose to be defeated or choose to risk the possibly getting what I desire.

Article One, Section 3, Clause 4 says:

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

This provision is typically seen as one of the “checks and balances” built into the U.S. Constitution, whereby the 3 branches of the federal government (Congress, President, and the courts) are given the ability to influence the others. In this case, the Vice President’s ability to preside over the deliberations of the Senate and (more importantly) break tie votes, presumably in favor of the presidential administration’s preferences, allows the Executive Branch to influence the behavior of the Senate (and, consequently, Congress).

Sarah Palin, for the second time, has claimed broad powers for the role of the Veep. In the most recent occurrence she explained the role to a group of elementary school students by saying the the Vice President is “in charge” of the U.S. Senate and “can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes.”

ABC News says the claim is “more expansive role for the vice president than the U.S. Constitution outlines.”

Article One, Section 3, Clause 4 is FULLY quoted above. That is ALL the constitution outlines. It specifies that the veep is president of the senate and has no vote, that’s it. The word president is pretty broad if you ask me. A president is one that presides over an organization, the chief officer, the highest executive. Who’s definition of president means a powerless puppet? Granted, the role has typically been one of non-interference with the day-to-day activities of the Senate with the exception of John Adams (the first V.P.) BUT contrary to what ABC News represents this IS NOT what the constitution outlines.

Now to wear another pair of shoes for a while, it is obvious by both the concept of separation of powers clearly outlined in the Constitution of the United States as well as the “non-voting” specification that the executive branch should not rule over the legislative branch. In a clear matter of principle the executive branch is not “in charge” of the senate.

It seems to this non-law scholar that the principle our founding fathers intended was that the executive branch would have a representative in the senate to advocate the executive branches agenda as well as ensure order in procedures as a facilitator only of the same senates activities. As facilitator there would be no real power to effect change except to help processes flow smoothly. So in a limited sense the veep is “in charge” but in a broader sense they are only in charge of ensuring things are happening and in a deadlock step in to break the tie.

Here I go again … Why does everyone have to tell us what someone or something says? Why can’t the lemmings of the world get up and find out for themselves. YOU should be seeing red flags and hearing warning bells when Palin says, she’s “in charge” AND when the media tells you that the role is “more more expansive than the U.S. Constitution outlines.” YOU should be saying, “hmmm neither sound right on the money, let me check it out MYSELF and discern the facts.”

Come on, we don’t need an instruction manual when we buy a new telephone! How many decades did an earlier generation communicate using that device and have NO MANUAL whatsoever? We’ve been duped into thinking that we can’t think for ourselves. Don’t buy it, you can check it out yourself, really, it’s not that hard.

In a recent conversation I discovered something that I have done all to often. The discovery came as a result of this happening TO me, but it was not too long before I realized that I am, all too often, guilty of the same crime.

A short description of what happened: I expressed my feelings toward an issue. No accusations, at least none intended, simply how I felt. Soon afterward the other party took my expressed feelings, turned them around to state how I was saying they were the cause of my feelings, therefore what I was saying was they were inadequate. Consequently the conversation almost took the obvious path wherein I would have to defend why I was calling the other person inadequate. No longer do my feelings matter, now the subject is their feelings and how I had trampled them.

My feelings were hijacked. Taken from me, twisted, and somehow made to show how little I valued someone.

It was subtle and it’s been done to me, and perpetrated by me, countless times. I’m a little slow on the uptake, but now that I understand that and how such a thing can happen I must seek to gently prevent the unlawful theft of something so important of someone’s feelings.

Remember the old ‘Plop, plop, fizz, fizz..?’

I don’t mind telling you that to eat this 20 pound monstrosity in less than 5 hours is not on my list of things to do anytime in this lifetime.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 – New International Version (NIV)

Last weekend I assisted in a workshop whose purpose is to free people to live a full and abundant life. To be very honest, I went into the workshop a bit prideful and emotionally numb. I have not been sleeping well for several months, so I was concerned about my physical ability to give what would be required of me. There were four 15+ hour days (plus 40 min commute each way) plus a 4 hour training session the day before the workshop began. Having done this before I knew that it would require a lot of my body physically. Spiritually I understood the same and really tried to “clean house” beginning several weeks before.

Still, between the tiredness and spiritual distance from my maker, I walked into the workshop doing the best I could but not really connecting at the “heart” level. My desire to support this ministry has been very strong for the last two years since I first went through a workshop myself. It was nearly halfway through the workshop and I was wondering “what am I doing here?”, “why did I ever come back?”, “what was on my mind to think I’d want to help out whenever they came to town?”, “this is way too much work”, “I’m getting nothing out of this”, etc., etc. By Friday evening (the halfway point), I began to see the hearts of the participants changing, I began to feel MY heart changing. It was almost midnight when I left that night and I didn’t want it to end. I was ready to stay for more! To pour myself out to those around me and give whatever I had that might help them. I was ministering to their heart. To give credit where credit is due – it was not me, it was my God ministering to them and he chose to use me.

What is the heart? What is that part of us that feels and experiences life? We guard it so closely. We’ve all had it wounded on more than one occasion. It hurts, it cuts us right to our very soul. That’s why we hide it and protect it with all the silly things we do. Anger, withdrawal, vengeance, gossip, pride, defensiveness, guilt, shame – each of these has a place along with all the other things we do to shield our very soul. The crazy thing is that this very protection also gives us the opposite of what we really need. The deepest longing of the soul is to connect with someone else’s heart. We don’t allow it, we pull away.

That was the change for me on Friday. I began to connect with others’ hearts and they with mine. Heart touching heart. It’s not an easy task to get there. It takes trust and vulnerability. But it’s worth it to have the heart filled – to know that someone else can see you for who you really are and still choose to love you – that’s what the heart does.

I don’t know if this poster says it all, but it says most of it.