The Pilgrim's Odyssey

An incredibly scenic drive from Wenatchee to Leavenworth to Lake Wenatchee and back, provided an important lesson on service, and appreciating those who have their eyes on making others better. When in Wanathchee, visit https://www.arlbergsports.com/.

As the world burns or turns, or whatever we are rapidly sliding towards, the real storm is the one few talk about. We are unmoored. We have created a society that minimizes the things that matter at the expense of the things that don't matter. We are all complicit. The great CS Lewis said, "Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, mines, cars, government, etc. exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes? The homemaker's job is one for which all other's exist." We now seem to have this backward. A modern reality might be, “Consuming stuff is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do families exist for except to raise people who will consume and buy this stuff so large corporations and government can be safe in their homes. Consuming stuff is the one thing for which all humans exist.” Thankfully, each one of us can be a solution. You can be a light to a stormy world. Together we can ride this out and show people another way.

Today, settling in to Olympia, Washington, I explored one of the best city parks you'll ever stumble upon, Watershed Park. Watershed Park is a 153-acre temperate rain forest public park located in Olympia, Washington that supplied almost all the city's water from privately established wells in the late 1800s. I lost track at the 17th bridge. Along the trail, I passed by a young man with an Olympia High School sweatshirt. I went back to my youth and couldn't help but wonder what that cauldron would be like today. https://www.olympiawa.gov/services/parks___recreation/parks___trails/watershed_park.php

I scanned my apple News app today. It sends me article from over 30 magazines and news sources. There was plenty of: Building better abs 2 Tests of your golf swing Lower your risk of heart disease 3 exercises for a bikini model of 50 Today's best gear deals Most effective exercises to reverse aging after 50 Russian propaganda to intimidate the west Elon Musk puts Twitter deal on hold The arrest of cardinal zen marks a new low in Hong Kong Biden Democrats's inflation mess How to decorate like a french Beauty magnet Is it better to rent or buy? Britney Spears loses her “miracle” baby New York police respond to Buffalo mass shooting MSNBC column claims homeschooling is racist Not much, if anything, on family and faith. But then I dug a little deeper, and in the Atlantic of all places, I found: “The Key to a good parent-child relationship? Low expectations”: An improvement, but yet another example of family on a contractual basis, not the fundamental strength of our life.  Want to be a true “radical”? Ready to be a true “punk” and counter-culture? “We're in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it's all gone. ” Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M. Pirsig Focus on family, faith, and freedom, and let out your Eagle cry!

Family is your fortress. Don't be afraid to fight for it.

“A life that is without problems may literally be more hopeless than one that always verges on despair.” Thomas Merton

The tornados that swept through the center of country have left at least 88 dead, over 15,000 structures destroyed or severely damaged, and current estimates on the cost are almost $4 Billion. There was a warning, but in that moment, nowhere to run. The silent stillness that often come before a storm can make your skin pop as the barometer changes and the storm clouds begin to invade. The silence after the destruction, whether there is actually silence or not, cuts deep and clarifies. All is meaningless, all is temporal, life is priceless and so vulnerable. Our spiritual life often follows a similar pattern. We are numb to the behaviors that destroy us. We are broken and overcome by fear and despair. We are left in an existential stillness that strips our ego naked and forces us to face all that matters – our relationships, our faith, our momentary existence. My god, my god, why has thou forsaken me? Silence My youth is gone, my despair is total. Silence And we ask, where do we go from here? Might I suggest moments like this give us an opportunity to create a life focused on meaning, simplified by fire, and fulfilled by relationship and depth. Long talks. Long walks. Good books. Good food. An expulsion of excess and a rejection of the temporal.

What an amazing day of training the NYPD at their magnificent Queens training center. A warm crowd with officers from incredibly diverse and interesting backgrounds. All of them were motivated to help their fellow officers and families live awesome lives. A few things I loved about the officers I met: Frank and honest Proud of their community Most grew up there, had family there A depth of character Thankful and grateful Great lessons on life that apply to all of us.

A walk through the neighborhoods of Queens, NY reminded me of all I have to be thankful for living in Indiana, and all those in NY have to be thankful for surrounded by the most diverse culture in the world. A walk of dichotomies, it left me with a smile on my face and hope for us all.

One of my favorite songs is the Eagles, The Last Resort. Written and sung by Don Henley, it is a stinging rebuke of our consumer culture. One of my favorite verses, “Some rich men came and raped the land Nobody caught 'em Put up a bunch of ugly boxes And Jesus people bought 'em” Greed, and those who preach against greed complicit in it. You have the power to change your world today, or you can be complicit in the theft of humanity and things that matter. Change your world means living intentionally. Whatever your situation, you can do that. It might be becoming a priest. It might be homesteading. It might be going back to school. It might be cutting back your lifestyle so you don't need two incomes. It might mean making faith #1 in your life. But whatever you do, don't become, or continue to be, one of those Jesus people who preach on Sunday but follow the rich men who rape the land. Until next time, aim high, spread your wings, and keep your eyes on the things that matter.

This is life.   You are born into a family. One of differing degrees of function. You grow up and are educated in some way. You develop interests and hobbies. You have triumphs, tragedies, and plenty of muddling. Hopefully more triumphs. You work, you raise a family or you don't. You get old. You die.   That is it. So why not get real? Why focus on distractions?  Our culture has become one of fantasy and when you get real, this culture gets threatened. Reality is dangerous.

Real heroes are all around us. Some of you might have seen the Chris Hemsworth movie, 12 Strong, about the Army Special Forces sent to Afghanistan after 9/11, the first in who worked with the Northern Alliance to overthrow the Taliban, from horseback! This week in Texas I was honored to have one of the 12 in a class I was teaching and it reminded me of the heroes all around us. Remember them all, especially on this Veterans Day.

Recently, I went on a short journey, a sort of pilgrimage to the childhood home of Kurt Cobain in Aberdeen, Washington. Thankfully, it was all I expected.

I've been on the road, reflecting. The times are a changing. Who will be our Bob Dylan? Where are we going? I'm no great musician, but I have some thoughts. And I have some stories. I was north of Seattle, at the Tulalip Casino speaking to a group of fire commissioners. I took a road into the Cascades, the Alps of America! It was an amazing drive along highway 20 through green valleys and soaring mountains. On the way back, I stopped in Rockport, a small community of 109 and home to the Bald Eagle Interpretive Center and a great hole in the wall pub, the Rockport Bar and Grill. A good time ensued.

“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” CS Lewis from a Grief Observed One definition or understanding of grief is: “Grief is the conflicting feelings caused by the end of or change in a familiar pattern of behavior.” The end of something brings an unknown. Venturing into the unknown can bring fear. Fear can paralyze us in our grief, and keep us from something new that could help us out of our grief. A recent spate of CS Lewis quotes on the internet made me think of this, and also the incredible amount of change and unknowns we have seen the last few years. It started long before Covid with political and social upheaval. Operating from fear can bring out our worst evils. Living bravely, in spite of unknowns, can bring out our best. It is a choice we make time and again, throughout our lives. How will you choose?

Sometimes the only comfort one can find when hopeless is understanding that you are the not only one who has felt that way. Yet, even that faint bit of connectedness usually offers little reprieve. Our community was rocked the last few days by the suicide of young man, just 15 and the son of missionaries. Many tears, much confusion and sadness, but thankfully, an outpouring of support for his family. It's a topic I speak on almost every week somewhere around our big country. Even with this frequency of addressing the topic, every life given up to this horror is poignant to me. What would I have you consider? How do I address this? These won't be easy words. Suicide is the result of what I call lonely logic. Alone in your head, it seems like the only solution to your despair. The greater the pain, the greater we feel isolated and alone. The harder it is to ask for help. How well do you really know your family and friends? Do you stop to sit still and listen to them? Do you really take the time to know their dreams and struggles, their triumphs and sorrows, their disappointments and joys? Who really knows you? Anyone? Suicide is a disease of disconnectedness and its evil father, despair. Don't sit there. Be proactive. Relationships are suicide prevention. I'm not going to give you a Bible verse because I know what God wants you to do. He wants you to love each other. In a real relationship. Deeply.

I've met some remarkable people the last month traveling for Maine to Seattle and everywhere in between. They are people that will probably never make the news, but they are truly the best of us. - His childhood one of abandonment, his mother an addict, he is a survivor and responder. - Given away from his mother in the 8th grade, he was on his own at 16 and is now a Fire Chief with a family rich in love and achievement. - In spite of incredible physical and mental hardships to overcome by him and his wife, they adopted 3 children needing a home and built a family of love and service. Then today, I read an article about Peter Thiel, the founder of Paypal and a billionaire. The type of businessman both revered and reviled for many for his often contrarian conservative ways. At the end of the article it describes him in the following way: Today, he lives in Vienna, Austria, with his long-time partner, Matt Danzeisen, whom he married in 2017, and now co-parents a baby daughter. Though he's avoided the limelight in recent years, he is still feared by many. As anti-monopoly activist Matt Stoller told Chafkin: He's “a nihilist, a really smart nihilist. He's entirely about power — it's the law of the jungle: ‘I'm a predator and the predators win.' ” Pondering this all, I was brought back to the basics by The Ancient Faith Bible. It is an edition of the CSB filled with narrative from Church fathers of the 1st to 4th centuries. A sucker for new bibles, I stumbled upon it in a bookstore on a break and couldn't put it down. A volume of insightful commentary from long dead Bishops and monks commenting on the word of God. And that brought me back to the place I always end up. It is all vanity, save Family, Faith, and Community.

The great Jimmy Cliff wrote: Many rivers to cross But I can't seem to find my way over Wandering I am lost As I travel along the white cliffs of Dover They are the lyrics of a beautiful and winsome song, the ode of a life traveler beaten down, but still moving forward. It seems lately, I've been crossing a lot of rivers, from Seattle to Maine and now I'm somewhere in the middle in Wisconsin. Often weary, I keep traveling and I've experienced some magical things that keep me moving forward. In Kitsap County, outside of Seattle I heard some amazing stories. Actually, some miraculous stories. A miraculous grocery store bailout and a well timed reading of – Mark 11:23 “Truly[a] I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. There is a richness of life you can only find in listening to others and allowing them to reveal themselves. On a computer screen or phone, life can become one-dimensional, just an assortment of pixels. In person, in the presence of another, you are reminded of why the answer to life is living, is loving, is experiencing this world around us. You have many rivers to cross. When we open our eyes and ears to other people with no other filter than our hearts, we find wonder.

For those who don't trust America, this is a good reason why. We bomb aid workers so our leaders can act tough. From the NY Times: “President Joe Biden murdered an innocent family when the US military conducted a "righteous strike" on Aug. 29 against a vehicle that American officials thought was an ISIS bomb that posed an imminent threat to thousands of people at the Kabul airport.” “In a late Friday afternoon report, the New York Times reveals that "Military officials said they did not know the identity of the car's driver when the drone fired, but deemed him suspicious because of how they interpreted his activities that day, saying that he possibly visited an ISIS safe house and, at one point, loaded what they thought could be explosives into the car." “Times reporting has identified the driver as Zemari Ahmadi, a longtime worker for a U.S. aid group. The evidence, including extensive interviews with family members, co-workers and witnesses, suggests that his travels that day actually involved transporting colleagues to and from work. And an analysis of video feeds showed that what the military may have seen was Mr. Ahmadi and a colleague loading canisters of water into his trunk to bring home to his family.” “While the U.S. military said the drone strike might have killed three civilians, Times reporting shows that it killed 10, including seven children, in a dense residential block.” “Mr. Ahmadi, 43, had worked since 2006 as an electrical engineer for Nutrition and Education International, a California-based aid and lobbying group. The morning of the strike, Mr. Ahmadi's boss called from the office at around 8:45 a.m., and asked him to pick up his laptop.” Why did we do this? To strike back at ISIS-K who killed our young Marines, a Navy Corpsman, and a soldier at the KABUL airport. But we did it blindly, and we lied about it. And this is why our actions must matter, and be more than statements. We must stand for what we believe.

New cars, especially popular new cars can be hard to find, and a long wait if you order. This has resulted in skyrocketing used car prices. But one manufacturer has been almost immune to the computer chip shortage that has plagued auto-manufacturers, Toyota. At a time where American manufacturers have experienced incredibly decreased production, GM at 60%, Ford at 50%, Toyota has led the world by staying at over 90% production. How did they do this? They predicted the supply problem if chip production was ever disrupted, and they stock-piled computer chips. Pretty simple, huh? As the article I was reading in Fortune magazine about this said, “Unlike many of its rivals, Toyota essentially stockpiles chips. That's a deviation from JIT, which dictates that supplies reach the production line only when they are needed. (Stockpiles occupy valuable space on the factory floor, as well as on the company's books.) In practice, Toyota's suppliers do the actual stockpiling. Like all automakers, the company relies on a multitude of components that contain semiconductors, such as smart displays or audio systems. Toyota requires suppliers of those components to maintain up to a six months' buffer supply of chips dedicated to Toyota orders—just in case.” Now why I do bring this up? Because we can learn in these uncertain times from Toyota. Identify what you need to “stockpile” and do so. And it might not just be goods. How about stockpiling time with your family and friends? How about building relationships with people you'd need in a time of need. How about building your “spiritual” home for future threats to your faith? When you are caught short-handed, it is too late to stockpile. We also tend to make bad decisions during times of crisis. We make short-sighted corrections that lead to worse problems. Just look at our responses to Covid. Preparation is a common biblical theme: Proverbs 20:4 The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. Proverbs 24:27 Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house. Luke 21:36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

You are what you love. This is why we can have a culture where people have many things they “love”, but their souls are being destroyed. We can be both “happy” and depressed. Searching for life, but filled with death. I was reminded of this fact reading an article about video game addiction that mentioned a 2016 book by James K. Smith, You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit. It is about shaping a Christian life, and realizing, you are what you love, and often, we might not love what we think. Or I would say, what you desire and falsely love. And even if it is something that would destroy you, this desire shapes our hearts and who we are. In the article I came across by Carmel Richardson for The American Spectator, for many of our young and not so young, it is video games. Especially young boys and men. From the article: “Gaming addictions are real and damaging, even beyond the well-documented: shorter attention spans, academic struggles, and a handful of basement-dwelling Call of Duty players who went off the rails. If those weren't enough, gamers are also highly prone to depression, and increasingly, studies show strong correlations between gaming and suicide rates.” “The demographic most hurt is young men. Statistically, gamers are teen boys, in the phase of life when they seek excitement most and are tempered by maturity least. Video games, which promise endless excitement, can be incredibly addictive to boys of this age. One 2020 poll, done by Michigan Medicine, shows teen boys are far more likely than girls to spend three or more hours gaming in a given day, and boys are twice as susceptible to gaming addictions in general than are girls. To say boys are the only ones to blame would be inaccurate, but certainly the problem affects them more than their female counterparts.” The author's main question, why do we allow video games to proliferate the young so unencumbered? Her implication and my answer, we all have our own “video games” and to limit the youth would mean to shine a light on our own “loves”. When we are blind to what we truly love, we tend to see things the way we want to see them. In a culture where we can get so easily distracted from reality in a search to create our own reality, is it any wonder that we are so divided over data and facts that we cannot agree upon, because we see what we want to see?

This isn't a rumor. It's just taken a while for it to become public. As of today, there are six planes filled with American Citizens and Afghan interpreters at the Mazar Sharif Airport being held hostage. It is finally being reported by mainstream news sources such as CBS. From a news report: A satellite image that was released on Sunday reportedly shows six airplanes that the Taliban is not allowing to fly out of Afghanistan. The planes are supposed to be carrying American citizens and Afghan interpreters who helped the U.S. Military. The satellite image follows a report from CBS News and remarks from a top U.S. lawmaker on Sunday that both said that the circumstances have effectively turned into a hostage situation. “Multiple planes that are ready to take American citizens and green card holders out of the country are being denied permission to leave by the Taliban,” CBS News reported, according to congressional and NGO sources. An email viewed by the network said that the flights were cleared to land in Qatar “if and when” the Taliban agreed to let them leave. A senior congressional source told the network that “the Taliban is basically holding them hostage to get more out of the Americans.” What has happened to America 2021 that this isn't leading every news program? What has happened that our government so cavalierly has left these people on the tarmac? It's enough to drive one crazy. In our upside-down world, we just visited the community of St. Tikhons Monastery and Seminary in the rural community of South Canaan, PA, nested in the hills of the Pocono Mountains. To many people, the scene of family and kids all centered around church might seem crazy. But it isn't. It's probably one of the sanest things I've seen in years. Counterculture and radical is a big family centered on faith and each other. Nothing crazy about it, just living as human beings were created to live, focused on the things that matter in life.

As the last American forces left Afghanistan and the Taliban took over the airfield in triumph, our commanding General, General Mackenzie thanked “our generous host nation” and expressed regret at leaving only about 250 Americans behind.  The generals leave us as they led us, as liars. The politicians even worse. “General McKenzie is basing his “very few hundreds” comment on those who have gone through official channels to specifically declare they want to leave and who have demonstrated they are American citizens. But many, many more were either unable to go through official channels as they evaded the Taliban or could not sufficiently prove they were American citizens. If they couldn't fax a passport to the Embassy, they weren't counted, according to sources at the State Department.” While General Mackenzie was desecrating the stars he wears with his lies and our last plane was leaving the Kabul airport and stranded Americans to the Taliban, this happened the same weekend in Chicago: "Forty people were shot, four of them fatally,...." Where is the critical examination of the policies State and Local government have executed for decades, and how it might have a part in this. After all, Chicago is run by one political party. If an honest news organization wanted to, it would be pretty easy to analyze a little cause and effect. But we are continually let down by a politically, and ideologically led media. And as the generals, politicians and reporters lie, and people die.

In our information age, obfuscation can easily be achieved with an abundance of big language and impenetrable data. Want to hide your intentions or lack of a real plan, make it sound as complicated as possible. When someone can't explain the general goals, principles, and concepts of something clearly, I get suspicious. This goes for plumbers, doctors, lawyers, you name it. Sometimes expertise hides incompetency or worse. Here are some highlights of a segment Tucker Carlson did with war correspondent Laura Logan where she talks on this very issue: “There are many things the United States could do right now to change what has happened and what is happening in Afghanistan, and they're not doing it.” “We don't care about Afghanistan. We believe that Pakistan is the most important country in that region and they always will be.” “What they want you believe is that Afghanistan is complicated. Because if you complicate it, it's a tactic in information warfare called ‘ambiguity increasing.'” “This comes down to the fact that the United States wants this outcome. Whoever's in power right now, whoever's really pulling the strings –- and I don't know that –- they could do anything they want to change this, and they're not.” It is important to remember this in our own lives. When we lose focus, life gets more complicated, harder to understand, and it is much easier to lie to ourselves about what we need to do to change things. Focus allows us to avoid becoming charlatans of ambiguity ourselves.

The situation in Afghanistan shows the truth of the leaders and pundits so many people have blindly put their faith in. Before we evacuate US citizens and friends who have helped us, we close the airbase best situated to evacuate them and then pull out our military. The best minds came up with this! As I mentioned on my last podcast, politicians DO NOT write the bills that impact our lives, lobbyists and staff members do it. Do you think one member of congress has read and understands the full text of a 1.2 trillion bill, or a 3.5 trillion bill? PhDs and health care workers have some of the highest rates of questioning our public health response to COVID, yet if you and I ask the same questions, we are crazy, listen to the experts they say! We live in a compartmentalized world where those in control of data can control its release and create the narrative understanding of it. This leads to decisions made by political views, and results like Afghanistan, or a country brought to its knees by a public health crisis as our cities burn and we become more and more divided. Be relentless in your search for the truth. Ask questions. Request data. Beware of anyone who doesn't like answering questions, beware of anyone who argues ad-hominem.

The Taliban are quickly taking over Afghanistan and returning to the power we took away from them 20 years ago. I am angry at our politicians and military leaders. I am more determined than ever to serve those who serve us, and to fight for the things that matter most - family, faith, and community.

A friend today on Facebook commented on how a recent death had made them reflect and decide to become more contemplative about life. I wondered, why does it so often take death to motivate us to examine our lives and commit to living deeply, if only for a moment. There are many ways to begin a contemplative life, but here is one I find very poignant from a Russian Priest: "Childlikeness is lost in life and recovered in holiness." And from the good book: Matthew 18:1-5 -  At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

I grow weary and praying is hard. John of Cronstadt advised: "It is said that we soon grow weary of praying. Wherefore? Because we do not vividly represent to ourselves the Lord, Who is at our right hand. Look upon Him unceasingly with the eyes of your heart, and then, even if you stand praying all night, you will not grow weary." "Our heart daily dies spiritually. Only ardent, tearful prayer quickens it, and makes it breathe again. If we don't do daily pray with sufficient spiritual fervor, we may easily and speedily die spiritually."

No debt, fulfilling hard work, connected family and friends – all held together by a life of faith. An easy concept. But in a complicated world, hard to execute. How about some good advice on staying focused by a Gold Medal Olympian and out-spoken Christian, Sydney McLaughlin, winner and world record holder of the Women's 400m hurdles. After her victory, she said the following: “Just trusting the process. Giving the glory to God,” McLaughlin said about her victory. “It's all, this season, hard work and dedication. And [I'm] just really grateful to be able to represent my country and to have this opportunity.” She gave up social media to focus on winning: "I think when you have a lot of outside voices coming in, it can definitely alter what you have going on internally," she said, via The New York Times. "The more I can distance myself from that, the more I can stay as calm and as relaxed as possible." She added: "A lot of that is outside things I can't control and I just tried to minimize it. I stayed off social media, stayed in my room, talked to friends and family and stuck to what I knew." Via The New York Times

A friend recently referenced an article by the far left Mother Jones on why Americans are so angry. I only refer to them as “far left” because they place the blame on Fox News. Pot, meet Kettle. In reality, they do not understand why most Americans are so angry. I'll tell you why so many Americans are so angry. It is because we have never been so lonely and isolated.

“The illusion that mechanical progress means human improvement ... alienates us from our own being and our own reality. It is precisely because we are convinced that our life, as such, is better if we have a better car, a better TV set, better toothpaste, etc., that we condemn and destroy our own reality and the reality of our natural resources. Technology was made for man, not man for technology. In losing touch with being and thus with God, we have fallen into a senseless idolatry of production and consumption for their own sakes.” Thomas Merton   What are some practical things that bring true peace: No Debt Close Family and Connected Relationships Good and Hard work A Deep Spiritual Life Healthy Living

I came across an article today on uncanceled.com about how the gradual replacement of physical cash with pure digital currency is not only erasing any degree of financial autonomy we may have, but it could be the last step in completely erasing any notion of personal privacy. Technology is being developed that would scan your face as you entered a store, it would then access all of your financial and personal data, and that would determine what you were eligible to purchase. Can it get any more big brother than that? What if being “cancelled” on social media became being “cancelled” in commerce if you didn't hold the correct political and social views? We are closer to this than you may think. If banks got rid of cash in ATMs and Bank branches, cash would disappear very quickly and you would be forced to go all digital, and to carry whatever mark they want you to in order to buy and sell. Sound familiar? We deserve it though. Our consumer society has been our downfall. It has taken our eyes off of the things that matter and has allowed us to be led by credit cards, interest rates, 401ks, and all sorts of shiny things. 

The best time to pray is when you don't feel like it.

Swimming next to Lake Dixie Springs yesterday with my nine - year old, he asked me what I thought heaven was like. I told him I wasn't sure, and whatever I thought it should be like, someone else might have a different idea. But isn't that life? We think many things obvious to us should be obvious to others, but often, we are only looking for a reflection of the image we want. Our forefathers intended to found a country where we had the freedom to determine that for ourselves. As we've been talking about bureaucracies this week, it is clear the danger they present, they want their vision to become ours. The same could be said for social media companies. Their owners foster group-think and that group-think becomes the standard. To get the America you want, you must take control of the life you want. Make your day, from rising to settling for bed, a reflection of your vision. Mine – family, faith, and freedom. Most of the founders would have agreed. It is on that framework, I believe, we give people the largest framework to venture out and discover the best of themselves.

From the Wall Street Journal today: “McDonald's Corp. said its sales are surpassing pre-pandemic levels across the world as more of its dining rooms reopen and U.S. customers try new chicken offerings.” But that isn't really why their sales are increasing, later in the article: “Busy drive-throughs and online sales have boosted McDonald's and other fast-food chains during the pandemic relative to other restaurants.”   From the The Western Front yesterday: "After over a year of providing to-go orders, running at half-capacity or shutting down completely, restaurants emerging from COVID-19 restrictions aren't in the clear yet. " "Washington state fully reopened June 30 and Whatcom County restaurants can now operate at full capacity due to Gov. Jay Inslee's updated Washington Ready Plan. However, those restaurants continue to face staffing and supply shortages, coupled with a new highly transmissible COVID-19 variant."

Definition of bureaucracy from Merriam-Webster: 1a: a body of nonelected government officials, b: an administrative policy-making group 2: government characterized by specialization of functions, adherence to fixed rules, and a hierarchy of authority 3: a system of administration marked by officialism, red tape, and proliferation From New Yorker Magazine: "With the approval of the government, a renowned sexologist ran a dangerous program" “I didn't think what was happening was good, but I thought it was normal,” one of the foster children recalled.  "The experiment was authorized and financially supported by the Berlin Senate. In a report submitted to the Senate, in 1988, Kentler had described it as a “complete success.” "Nentwig had assumed that Kentler's experiment ended in the nineteen-seventies. But Marco told her he had lived in his foster home until 2003, when he was twenty-one." Build your local community. Get involved locally at every level you can. Looking out for you, your family, and your neighbors begins right there where you live.

We landed in Mississippi after a traffic infested journey from Indiana. A quick evening of rest was followed the next day by a float down the Homochitto river, then a relaxing evening on Lake Dixie Springs. The Homochitto river brought back exciting memories from my youth. I spent more than a few summers speeding along its banks on old-school 3-wheelers, the kind that were banned, and the kind that set your hair on fire with reckless fun. The lake was a serene scene with kids playing and the sun setting. My son, Gabriel, swam by himself long into the night, joined briefly by his sister, but they were interrupted just as things were getting otherworldly with a good old-fashioned thunder and lightning southern storm. On the river, more than a couple passing canoes and kayaks of family members said with a smile, “you don't need much more than this.” I agreed.

Reading a comment from a listener got me thinking about judgment. And it begged the question, who is being the judge? From Merriam-Webster: Definition of judgment 1a: the process of forming an opinion or evaluation by discerning and comparing 2a: the capacity for judging   Definition of judgmental 1: of, relating to, or involving judgment a judgmental error 2: characterized by a tendency to judge harshly judgmental prigs  

“Ad hominem: (of an argument or reaction) directed against a person rather than the position they are maintaining.” The name-calling, attacking nature of current discourse is probably the most divisive part of society and communication at the moment. Verbal bullying at all levels, from school kids to national media outlets creates almost a daily powder keg. As best we can, we must do our part to avoid this. We must separate the person from the position. This doesn't mean we keep our head in the sand, merely that we do our best to listen, analyze, research, and then base our judgement on that. If we can't convince someone with reason, attacking them only makes it worse.

In a world where we desperately try to avoid pain and struggle, and where self-satisfaction and pleasure has become a religion, how and where do we find God? John Bunyan said: "No man, without trials and temptations, can attain a true understanding of the Holy Scriptures." And the good book in 1 Peter 4:12 directs us: "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."

Walking the streets of Denver, one thing becomes clear: they smoke a lot of weed out here in Colorado. I couldn't help but ponder, what happens when you fill the hole of purpose with shadows of meaning.

In Denver today to teach a leadership class, I was three times confronted with the following, “a bag will cost you .10 cents.” This is thanks to a new law In the city and county of Denver, thanks no doubt, to transplants from California! Can we do some remedial education on cognitive dissonance? From Websters: “the state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially as relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change.”

As reported this week, 41% of Baltimore public high school students failed to earn even a “D” grade point average. Twice the number of students than the previous year, distance learning during Covid didn't work out so good. The good news, the number of students with a B or better stayed about the same. The lesson, personal responsibility is the most important lesson in life. And the most important factor in education isn't money as we often hear. Baltimore schools outspend 97% of other large school districts. According to Forbes, that is almost $18,000 per student! Can someone give us that for our homeschool!

What a day in Alaska! Speaking to law enforcement officers, their families, and others who support law enforcement from around Alaska, we had a surprise guest - the Governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy. I handed off the mike to the Governor midway through my talk and he gave a heartfelt message on how he and Alaska backed those in blue, and how they wanted and needed to do better. A very busy man, no one would have even thought, "Where is the Governor?" for an event like this, but he showed up because the lives of those men and women mattered to him. He let them know that they were known to him, that the lives of them and their families were important. It was a lesson we all can learn from. I was honored to be part of the event.

A native Alaskan, a report that the United States has the highest percentage of single-parent homes in the world, and an important conversation in a coffee shop years ago made today quite a day in Fairbanks, Alaska.  

Waking up at 3am to see light in the Fairbank's sky reminded me of an important lesson I learned while an exchange student one summer in Iceland.  Sometimes to find clarity, you have to empty yourself. Clarity can definitely be found in the light of a midnight sun.

Today is a traveling day as I head north to Alaska to speak. A beautiful and majestic land, it truly is the call of the wild and hearkens to freedom and possibility - at a risk of course. It is a brutal land where many big dreams have been crushed. I overheard a conversation today on my first flight that is the opposite of that spirit. A young girl doing her best to live risk-free. Go north young lady! Our information age tries to fool people into thinking that if you are equipped with enough data you can live life with some sort of certainty. You can't of course, and this inevitable insecurity leads to some very fragile people. But if you survive a journey into the wild, not only do you understand this, but you begin to thrive on the cold, hard reality of life and existence. Play it safe, you might just get paranoid. Head into the wild, you learn how to live and allow uncertainty to fuel your life.

Recently, I've lost quite a few pounds by skipping breakfast and watching my calories. As I progressed, my aches and pains receded, and my motivation increased. Just a lifestyle change made a huge difference. Getting up early has the same impact. Get up early, accomplish something immediately, you will feel better. As life gets more complicated, these are necessary conditions for living fully. Simple to explain, often hard to do, the benefits immense.

First Responders looking for life in the rubble of the Surfside collapse were told they could go home as the effort would now be focused on recovery. There would be no more survivors. But the first responders didn't listen, and they kept looking. A member of Israel's search team told families: "I ask you all to look into my eyes, and I promise you we did everything. No effort was saved." Coming home for all these workers will be hard, for a long time. And while different, coming home can be hard for you and me too. Leaving our worldly endeavors and crossing the threshold into home should be a liminal endeavor. We should refocus and commit ourselves to those precious lives that inhabit the dwelling. Coming home can be hard. Make sure when you cross that threshold you take a second to reset and focus, the things that matter are counting on you.

There are almost 2 million first responders in the United States. The total number of Active Duty, National Guard, and Reserve troops is about 2.4 million. That is over 4 million men and women who serve and protect our nation and communities. In a country of about 328 million, that is about 1.3%. Do not take them for granted. And never forget that it is usually the few who carry the heaviest loads. And most importantly, use their service to remind you that doing the things that matter is worth it.

Children are a mirror. Look at them, you'll see the best and worst, of yourself. But if we are honest about what we see, we can make ourselves better people and parents in the process. Actions speak louder than words. The most important things are human interactions. Without this, we look for substitutes. And substitutes only leave us hollow. The best dichotomy to cultivate in a family: I never want them to leave/I can't wait to see what they do when they leave.