Decision Points

“Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.”

Ukrainian-Israeli educator and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir, was born on this day in 1898 (d. 1978)

Yes, I know the title is the title of a book by George W. Bush. No I haven’t read it. No, I likely will not.

Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time driving. The reasons vary. But it gives me a lot of time to think.

After all, I’ve caught up with all the episodes of my favorite Shakespeare podcast and I’ve yet to find a suitable replacement.

As I mentioned yesterday, on my drive to, or from, the park I “rewrote” my current novel project. Actually I just re-sequenced it and made the necessary notes for when I get back to it.

One major project at a time, remember?

Other times on the drives I’ll engage in the futile “what if?” game.

The Write Side Shop

The most recent was prompted by a post from a high school friend. It stirred up a memory that was both painful and embarrassing. Details don’t matter, just know that it was high school boy stupidity. Your cluelessness may vary. But I asked myself what might have happened if I’d made another choice.

I can ask myself that same question about a lot of choices over the years. What if I’d taken that other job offer? What if I’d moved there instead of…there.

It’s all speculation and none of the questions will change anything.

I can look at points in my life that were significant turning points and consider how my reactions and decisions might have been influenced by circumstances or the well-meaning, but erroneous, advice of others.

My Dad died when I was only twenty. What if he’d been around another twenty years when I finally started to grow up?

There are the decisions I made immediately after college. Those that seemed short-term at the time, but ended up influencing my career path. What if I’d gone back to the mission field, or to seminary, instead of trusting the advice of someone who I thought was looking out for my best interests, rather than his own?

What if I’d accepted that television job, or that campaign job, or…

It doesn’t matter.

And it doesn’t matter what the influences or circumstances were.

At each turning point, I made the decision.

That left turn in Albuquerque if you will.

I made the decisions that got me here.

And here, as it turns out, is not such a bad place.

American singer and actor, Frankie Valli, was born on this day in 1934.


THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Filler-Corn Flips Off Bystanders After Losing Leadership Vote
Shaun Kenney at The Republican Standard
Former Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) decided to let her emotions get the better of her last week. Read More.

BREAKING: SCOTUS rules Boston violated First Amendment in refusing to fly Christian flag among flags of other groups
The Post Millennial
“The line between a forum for private expression and the government’s own speech is important, but not always clear,” he wrote. Read More.

Joe Biden’s ‘Ministry of Truth’
Joe Concha in The Hill
The person chosen to lead this new “Committee of Public Information” under Mayorkas is Nina Jankowicz, who calls herself “a disinformation fellow” and a Russian disinformation expert. Read More.

Hunter Biden To Receive $50K Per Month Salary For Seat On Disinformation Governance Board
The Babylon Bee
“We are proud to welcome Hunter to our Ministry of Tr– um, our Disinformation Governance Board,” said Jankowicz. “As the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign that claimed his laptop held evidence of horrific sexual crimes and international corruption resulting in tens of millions of dollars being funneled to the Biden family, he is uniquely equipped to speak to these issues.”  Read More.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1903 – Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (d. 1977)
1906 – Mary Astor, American actress (d. 1987)
1919 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2014)
1921 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (d. 1989)
1933 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2006)
1951 – Christopher Cross, American singer-songwriter and producer

BENEDICTION

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:7–8

RECAFFEINATED MONDAYS: Seize the May

Photo by Julia Kicova on Unsplash

Hi, derry day in the month of May
Was the song the minstrel sang
To the good of Robin Hood
Maid Marion and all the gang

Gordon Lightfoot

It’s May. Fresh month. Fresh week. Fresh calendar.

Oh sure, it was fresher yesterday but you should have been at church instead of reading blogs. I should have too, but I was working at the park.

Ox in the ditch. You know the drill.

Here we are with a new month and we have to figure out what to do with it. The weather is finally turning warmer. Soon the pools will open and we’ll be complaining

Mugshots

about the heat of the summer.

However, let me just say that I prefer the heat of the summer to winter any day.

Here in May the projects continue. I work to maintain this blog, to complete The 100 Day Project, and to work on the one project I’ve determined to focus on for six weeks.

Let’s just say that I’ve not quite made the progress I had hoped.

Let’s also say that on the drive to and from the park yesterday, I rewrote my current novel project in my head.

I’m not working on that right now, but I did write down the revised outline.

We should also not forget that May is the month for graduations, mothers, and honoring those who gave all.

In case you haven’t looked at the calendar. This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day.

You are welcome for the reminder.

Let’s get on with the week.

American singer and actress, Naomi Judd died on Saturday at the age of 76.


 

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ

Adam Kinzinger introduced a resolution authorizing the US military to engage Russia if Putin uses WMDs
Blaze Media
On Sunday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said that he introduced a resolution to authorize the U.S. military to engage in combat with Russia should the Russian military use chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Read More.

Bill Maher rips Twitter for flagging Babylon Bee amid Elon Musk takeover: ‘You do need a new sheriff’
Fox News
“Has Twitter failed in setting itself up in the past as the judge of what can go out there? And I would say yes, you have,” Maher said during a panel discussion Friday night. “You failed when you threw the New York Post off of Twitter for talking about Hunter Biden’s emails. And it turned out that was a real story. You failed when you said we couldn’t read about whether COVID had come from a lab. You failed!” Read More.

CRINGEFEST: Joe Biden reaches new low at embarrassing White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The Post Millennial
Biden noted that the Republicans seem to be backing “one fella” named “Brandon.” Read More.

Sunday Firesides: The Non-Technologized Children Shall Inherit the Earth
The Art of Manliness
While technology has made so much of life easier, all that is best in it, all that leads to success — all relationship-building, conversation-making, craft-honing, and subject-mastering — still requires uninterrupted focus, persistent dedication, what Nietzsche called “a long obedience in the same direction.” Read More.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1729 – Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
1885 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist
1945 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
1948 – Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

BENEDICTION

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121:7–8