This is a clipping I ran across several years ago. It is probably not true, but it still makes me smile. It is supposedly an answer on a college entrance application. Enjoy.

3A. ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.
I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.
I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket.
I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.
I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four-course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.
But I have not yet gone to college. Please let me in.

By the way – The picture that I have placed above for my “header” is from the Homer Harbor on the spit. This is the view for those of us who live on top of the world. Are you ready to come visit me??

While I was in college one of my professors urged the students to read the books of Eugene Peterson. In those early days of ministry I read several of his books, but it was not until I became an older Pastor that much of what he had written began to make sense to me. For those of you who do not know about Peterson, he is the guy who translated/paraphrased the Bible in his work called “The Message.” He is the author of numerous books and I have read many of them. One of my favorite books is a collection of pieces of his writings called “Living the Message.” It is a series of daily reflections on faith, the scripture and pastoral life in little half page or more segments. It is designed to be read every day of the week as an encouragement to your faith. I admit to you that I am now re-reading through it for the 4th or 5th time.
One of my favorite thoughts in the book is a passage in which he talks about how he is not very religious. He states something that I find really profound.
He says that he only believes in one God and that is it. He does not believe in fate or destiny or karma. He does not believe in magic or illusion. He does not believe in crystal balls, tea leaves, or the lines on the palm of your hand. He does not believe in luck or superstitions or even simple coincidence.
Most of the world rejects the idea of one God and instead buys into every mystical notion that they are told to to true. Christians are people who have simply decided to worship one God and one God alone.

I have been reading a book about Church growth in the rural setting. I was surprised to find that one of his first principles for growth is to have a great marriage. I suppose that has me thinking about my marriage more this week. As a result I decided to print something I found years ago. I am not sure who wrote it originally. I was once told it came from Bob Moorhead but I cannot find any information to confirm or deny that as fact. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

A Prayer Commitment To Marriage

I am standing for the healing of my marriage! I won’t give up, give in, give out or give over till that healing takes place, I made a vow, I said the works, I gave the pledge, I gave a ring, I took a ring, I gave myself, I trusted God, and said the words, and meant the words…in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad, so I’m standing now, and won’t sit down, let down, slow down, calm down, fall down, look down, or be down till the breakdown is torn down.
I refuse to put my eyes on outward circumstances, or listen to prophets of doom, or buy into what’s trendy, worldly, popular, convenient, easy, quick, thrifty, or advantageous…nor will I settle for a cheap imitation of God’s real thing, nor will I seek to lower God’s standard, twist God’s will, rewrite God’s Word, violate God’s covenant, or accept what God hates, namely divorce.
In a world of filth, I will stay pure, surrounded by lies, I will speak the truth, where hopelessness abound, I will hope in God, where revenge is easier, I will bless instead of curse, and where the odds are stacked against me, I’ll trust in God’s faithfulness.
I’m a stander, and I won’t acquiesce, compromise, quarrel or quit…I have made the choice, set my face, entered the race, believed the Word, and trusted God for all the outcome.
I will allow neither the reaction of my spouse, nor the urging of my friends, nor the advice of my loved ones, not the economic hardship, nor the prompting of the devil to make me let up, slow up, blow up, or give up till my marriage is healed up.

Amen.

I saw a couple of things on the internet today that I thought went together well …
and they fit nicely into my thinking on this blog.

First – Carlos Whittaker posted this picture on his blog Ragamuffin Soul

He asked, “When is the last time this happened to you?”

The next post I saw was over at People of the Second Chance that told about a 106 year old woman receiving her high school diploma

You can read the whole story  HERE

And they ask, “Do you still think it is too late for a Second Chance?”

Maybe both those questions are related.

Through the years I have had the opportunity to do a lot of marriage counseling. I tell all my people the top marriage killers up front. My wife told me I should change the name from “Marriage Killers” to “Potential Marriage Killers” and she was right. Every marriage has 6 things that can potentially kill it. So here they are:

1. In-laws
2. Money
3. Religion
4. Sex
5. Kid(s)
6. Communication (Usually about #’s 1-5)

I bet if you analyze your marriage you will find most of your struggles come from one of these six things. The most interesting part to me is how your parents marriage influences your marriage without you realizing it. Thus, your struggles in one of these areas are often very similar to one set, or both sets, of your parents.

Think about it. I hope this helps.

I was recently dismissed from jury duty. I had spent the better part of two days going through the selection process and one of the lawyers thought I should be eliminated. So now I am home and able to reflect upon my experience. I don’t know that I learned a lot of new information, but several old truths were underlined to me. One, is that no one wants to serve on a jury. Two, strangers can quickly become friends when put into long hours together. I met three new people and had several nice conversations. Three, no one wants to serve on jury. Finally, if you live in Homer Alaska there is a pretty good chance that you are self-employed.
There was one thing that stood out to me in this process, besides the courts need for better organization. As we went through the selection process each person had to tell about themselves. I quickly noticed how few people have “traditional families.” We had single moms and single dads plus a widower in the panel. We had people who were living together, people who were married and one man said he had a “life partner” and a couple were single. One man said he and his wife were separated. Another man stated that he and his wife were adopting a baby. I overheard a conversation in which he told another person that a baby girl had come through foster care and their was no indication that she would ever be able to return home so they decided to keep her. One lady had 8 kids from age 30 something to age 8 or 9. I heard about 30 people tell their story and only four or five were what I would call a “traditional family” with a husband, wife and 2.3 children. Maybe that is a reflection on Alaska or maybe just Homer, but it might be a reflection on America or even the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there is anything wrong with any of these people. I am not saying I am superior to them or that everyone needs to live the way I do. I was simply reminded that everyone is unique. They are unique in their background, their family, their experiences, the way they raise their kids and in almost every way you can think of.
I was blessed by my time with the jury if for no other reason than to be reminded of what the world is really like compared to me. The truth is that information should affect my relationships and they way I treat other people as a Christian and as a Pastor.