Oh, how the mighty have fallen

Lots of people ask the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" The answer is, there are greater things at work in this world than you can comprehend with your limited human understanding. God is in control. Life is certainly not easy, and things sure can suck, but the fact remains that we are just a fraction of a grain of sand in this world. How does a spoiled rich celebrity effortlessly amass tens of millions of dollars and then spend them on ridiculous things such as designer dog jewelry? I don't know. Why are babies born with deadly diseases that limit their life to only a few minutes, hours, or days? I don't know. I do know that God doesn't miss a beat on this Earth and that I trust in him completely in my life.

I bring this up because God has decided to take me down a notch. In short, I had it all eight years ago. My living condition was one that people work their whole lives toward retiring with. My family life was outstanding, my finances were secure and virtually stress free, and my career was perfectly on course. Now I am unemployed, in debt, and struggling to provide for my family. Not quite the future I planned.

Luckily I have not lost heart. I know that my family and I will recover from this difficult time. Years or even months from now, we will be able to look back and glean lessons from this terrible experience. This is not to say that I haven't been stressed out. I am still human. I've succumb to the occasional fit of rage and have tested the depths of my profane vocabulary. But even now I can understand that I did consider myself "mighty" in the past. I wasn't in the position to correct myself, so I was"corrected". It's exactly the same thing a loving parent does with a child. When Sammy D wants to stand up on the couch I tell him "no" and sit him back down. He doesn't understand that I'm trying to prevent him from falling and getting hurt. He just gets mad and cries having no idea that I did it for his own good. This is a microcosm of what my "father" has done for me. I may be prone to the occasional fit, but unlike Sammy, I understand that events in my life are being shaped for my own good. The appropriate response should be that of thanks, love, and understanding.

@#$% happens. When it happens to you, don't miss the opportunity to capture the positive within it.
The mouth of Sam has spoken.

Calm Down

It is a rare occasion when I disagree with the right, but it's time to call them out. Obama authorizes the Navy to use deadly force to free an American hostage held by Somali pirates. The Navy executes a flawless rescue effort and saves the life of the hostage. GREAT JOB! Well done Navy seals and well done president Obama.

I was fearful that the great appeaser would wuss out and allow us to be victimized in this scenario, but he did not. I have no problem acknowledging that Obama made a good call. Apparently the right is incapable of doing this. Blinded by pure anti-Obama sentiment (similar to the anti-Bush hatred) the right is now focusing on how the media is giving Obama too much credit for the rescue and not enough to the Navy. Who cares!? Clam down with that crap! There are plenty of things that Obama and the media do (and will do) that deserve our scrutiny and disapproval. This is not one of them.

God Bless America

don't blink or you'll miss it

Here are just a few monday morning headlines -

5 dead in Florida boating wreck

21 killed in blaze at Polish housing shelter

5 killed in hit and run crash in Atlanta

22 Afghan militants killed in clash

Uf student dies studying in Africa

Fort Lewis soldier accidentally shot wife dead

It's easy to become desensitized to these stories, but death is certain and is everywhere. I can't imagine facing death with uncertainty and fear. Of course I'm scared of death, it's human nature, BUT I do understand that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. I have no uncertainty as to where my eternal destination will be. As a former police officer, I have seen plenty of dead bodies and have actually watched people die. I can tell you from first hand experience that those bodies are just empty, inanimate vessels, devoid of any substance or essence. The soul is gone, it's not hard to see.

All I can do in response to my impending death is to thank and praise God. Jesus died and then rose from the grave, NO other "God" has done that. He defied and defeated death so that I may do the same in his name when I perish. Life is precious and short. You best get your eternal business in order Mr. or Mrs. blog reader.

I am happy to notify all that today is my 7th wedding anniversary. A blog couldn't hold all my thoughts about marriage. It can be as complicated as neuro-science or as simple as flicking a light switch. My best advise is, marry someone with true character. I lucked out and married someone with intelligence, compassion, faith, kindness, and loyalty. It is only in the tough times that you can truly measure the character of an individual. Over the years I have found that Teri is the real deal. She has been tried and tested and has remained as solid as a rock. I have more love and respect for her than I have ever had in the past because I know her true character. There is no show, she is all real. And that's why I love her.

Happy Anniversary Ful Ful, Cheers!

I relinquish my title

About five years ago I decided to give my self a nickname. It was "KING". The name was only to be written in capital letters and never to be preceded with "the". I was simply KING (yes, I was arrogant enough to give my self a nickname). Teri refused to acknowledge my title and vowed never to call me by it. The rest of my cohorts also failed to respect the title. I was called by that name approximately half a dozen times in the past five years.

Here ye, here ye, I officially relinquish my title and bestow it upon my son, baby gordito. From this day forward, he shall be known as KING Dito.

Enjoy your new title Sammy D!