We have been discussing the unhappiness we see in our country today. It's been my observation that this unhappiness can be attributed to three things. The circumstances we face, the people we encounter and the problems we worry about. In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul addresses these three areas by giving us three principles to follow.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Principle #1 - Greet Every Situation with Rejoicing - v.4
Principle #3 - Meet Every Problem with Prayer - v.6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
In 1988 a song by Bobby McFerrin hit the charts and quickly
raced to number one. That year it won three Grammy awards. The song was not a song of intellectual depth, in fact, one
phrase was repeated over 20 times, but somehow it struck a chord
with the public.
The song was titled, “Don’t
Worry, Be Happy.” Why
did this little diddy take the country by storm? Because worry and anxiety are part and parcel of today’s
human existence. Worry reigns over more human beings
than any king who ever ruled.
Everyone is looking for answers to help overcome anxiety,
worry and depression – people want to stop worrying and be happy!Paul says however, “be anxious for nothing.”
The word “anxious” means
to be pulled in different directions, to have divided energies, to have a
divided mind. Our English word “worry”
comes form an old English word meaning
to strangle. When worry takes over our lives our minds become
divided between legitimate thoughts and destructive thoughts. This battle strangles out right thinking. We are pulled in different directions and consequently worry
chokes out the truths we have been taught.
When right thinking becomes distorted and the Word becomes
squeezed out it causes us to abandon our trust in the Lord who tells us to cast
all of our cares upon Him (I Peter 5:7).
In my prior post (Part 1), I mentioned that we seem to be grumpier and less happy in our society today. It is no doubt a reflection of the times in which we live. Life is difficult on so many levels and it seems as though each day brings a new struggle. Yet, despite the every day hardships we face, we don't have to let them control us. In fact, the Bible gives us some principles to follow to help us to overcome the tendency to let our circumstances, the people in our lives and our problems make us unhappy. These principles are found in Philippians 4:4-7.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Previously, we looked at the first Principle, which teaches us how to deal with our circumstances.
Principle #1 - Greet Every Situation with Rejoicing - v.4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice
We must understand that what God wants for us in this life is not happiness, but joy. We can experience joy (a settled satisfaction and contentment that comes from our relationship with Him) when we realize what it means to rejoice "in the Lord." To rejoice in the Lord does not mean that we ignore our responsibilities. Neither does it mean that we evade obvious issues. Rather, it means we are to be fully cognizant of the situation we are in, fully prepared to deal with it responsibly, and fully convinced of the power of the Lord to give us wisdom, grace and courage to deal with whatever comes along. When we adopt this attitude it will not produce a giddy irresponsibility or a naive ecstasy, but a deep, mature, responsible faith that rests on God's sovereign goodness.
Sometimes though, it isn't so much the the situations that make our life difficult, but the people in it! That leads us to our second principle.
There seems to be a lot of grumpiness going around in our country today, not without good reason. The circumstances we find ourselves in is less than hopeful for most. In fact, if I could use one word to describe the mood of the country I think it would be "unhappy." It is my sense than many are just weary from the political and economic realities of the day.
The
young man sat up with a sad smile and said, “but
doctor, I am Grimaldi!”
No one ever promised us that life would be easy. Sometimes things happen that make life difficult to bear. At other times, you think you have everything going your way when something unexpected comes along and throws a monkey wrench into your life. Whether our difficulties are ongoing or catch us by surpise, it has been my experience that the burden created by those difficulties comes from one of three areas. The people we meet, the situations we
encounter or the problems we face.
Maybe today you are struggling to cope with some situation,
some person or some problem in your life (and we all will at some point in our
lives).
If so, then listen to what the Bible has to say to us.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ.
Strollin' on the water
High over every care
Strollin' on the water
Sinking no longer
Let me rise above the high tide
I can do it, I'll do it, yeah
I know where my strength comes from
No, this is not a post on the physical science of chemistry. It is however, a post on that magical, mystical, metaphysical, mysterious, hard to define relationship thing called "chemistry."
According to a recent book, men “get the axe” on the first date for any number of 300 reasons, but reason number one is no chemistry.
My first encounter with this concept came when I decided to try online dating. I was fascinated by the fact that so many women talked about how important "chemistry" was on their profiles. I thought I understood what they meant by the term "chemistry" but I also thought it seemed a bit shallow and superficial because it appeared to be physically focused. It also seemed to me to be a rather rash way to decide whether you you might ultimately have a heart to heart connection with someone.
Subsequently, I have found that this "chemistry" thing really is a big deal to women. Women tend to make instant decisions about guys. They have to "feel" it or it's a no go. In fact, most women make up their minds within five minutes whether they will ever be "physical" with a guy.
As you can imagine, this makes it very difficult for a man when he wants to develop a long-term "connection" with a woman. If he's not on his game, he is in trouble. If he can't get her pheromones going and give her butterflies and make her googly eyed, then he may be a one date wonder!
When I was on eHarmony, one of the guided communication questions that I always sent was "How important is chemistry to you?" The possible answers were as follows:
A: I need to feel that instant "click" B: within the first couple of dates I need to sense a certain chemistry C: I think chemistry can be generated over the long-term with someone I really like D: I don't believe chemistry is really important to a successful relationship
The reason I asked this question is because I wanted to know how shallow thoughtful my potential match was. If she chose A, I would not pursue the match any further. If my match chose D, I would also close the match. Who wants to be in a relationship when there is no chemistry at all?
What I was really looking for was a C or B answer. Originally, I thought C was the ideal answer. Like Harry and Sally in the above clip I thought that the best approach was a long-term one. You find out you are compatible (that was what I was paying eHarmony for), then you discover that you like each other, then you become friends and then, if there is a real connection, you fall in love. Alas...that hasn't really worked out for me yet (although, I still feel like that is the ideal).
In the last year or so, I have gravitated toward B as the best answer and I am a little less harsh toward those that choose A, but just a little. I mean, think about it, those women that choose A will just drop you like a hot potato if another man get's that instant clicks with her. Am I right?
So here is my issue. To know me is to love me. I say that with all humility...no, really! You probably can't just get Jim Wheeler on one date. I have said on more than one occasion that I don't look like Brad Pitt, I don't have the money of Bill Gates, and I am not even close to being as spiritual as the Apostle Paul. But I am a great guy nonetheless. I can be charming and funny and wise and intellectual and adventurous and romantic with the best of them...but...believe it or not, I may have an off day every now and then. That's why if you don't feel that instant click on the first date with me, you may end up missing out if you quit there.
And just so you know, I try to practice what I preach. I like to have more than one date with a woman that I may be interested in, even if there is no initial "chemistry." On more than one occasion, my attraction to a woman has grown as I have had the opportunity to get to know her better.
Like everyone else, I would love to have a "meet cute" where my future wife and I meet at the grocery store while we both are reaching for the last box of pasta on the shelf. We look at each other and say "go ahead, you take it." We laugh at each other and gaze into each others eyes and voila...it's kismet! Since that is probably not going to happen, I am going to need to go on a few dates, to figure out if there is any there, there. More than likely though, the scenario will be more apt to be me as a Harry falling in love with a Sally, and only after we really get to know each other and develop a heart to heart connection. Obviously...that will take more than one date.
Someone has guestimated that the average single woman receives $14,000 in free food, movies, drinks and other forms of entertainment over the course of her life. Not a bad gig if you can get it!
This is an interesting post on how one indivudual has moved from atheism to Catholicism because of her inability to explain the origins of morality from the perspective of a naturalistic world view.
I’ve heard some explanations that try to bake morality into the natural world by reaching for evolutionary psychology. They argue that moral dispositions are evolutionarily triumphant over selfishness, or they talk about group selection, or something else. Usually, these proposed solutions radically misunderstand a) evolution b) moral philosophy or c) both. I didn’t think the answer was there.
She goes on to describe the moment of her "conversion" to Catholicism.
I believed that the Moral Law wasn’t just a Platonic truth, abstract and distant. It turns out I actually believed it was some kind of Person, as well as Truth. And there was one religion that seemed like the most promising way to reach back to that living Truth. I asked my friend what he suggest we do now, and we prayed the night office of the Liturgy of the Hours together (I’ve kept up with that since). Then I suggested hugs and playing Mumford and Sons really, really loudly.
I hope and pray that her journey will continue to lead her to the personification of the truth, i.e. Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
This is an interesting list of 10 things not to say to someone when they're ill. I thought the list was very good. One of the best things I ever learned as a Pastor is that people don't necessarily want to hear you talk when you visit them, they just appreciate that you are there. Sometimes the best thing you can say is nothing at all!
Why "stimulus" spending doesn't work. I have a great deal of experience with this subject being directly involved in the public sector and trust me, the "stimulus" didn't stimulate anything, except the growth in government.
If you can't find a job in the private sector, you can always go to work as a heckler for the Obama Campaign!
Favorite Star Trek quotes. My favorite, from Spock: "I have been, and always shall be, your friend." (Star Trek
II)
The average lifetime spending by a husband-wife family on one child? $234,900! I've spent a million dollars on my four kids...AND counting!
This one is for my friend Doug. Recasting great TV shows using photoshop. Check out the A-Team.
The English language continues to be a challenge for me in my writing. However, I am determined to master it before I die! Below are words that I either had questions about while recently writing a blog post or mistakes I caught while proofreading a post (I hate proofreading). Most of these grammar rules are basic, but still, I hope this is a helpful reminder.
Site, Sight, Cite
Site means "a piece of land" or "to assign a position to." Sight relates to vision. Cite means "to mention" or "to quote." One of the results of the internet age has been the increase in the usage of the word "site" as in Web site. I think this has caused some confusion.
It also brings up an entire separate issue for me. Is website/Web site one or two words? Interestingly, if you read some of the national newspapers you will see both spellings depending on which paper you are reading. The Wall Street Journal uses website while the New York Times uses Web site. And the Washington Post? It can't make up its mind! It uses website and Web site (with a capital "W") about equally. In 2010 the AP Stylebook, which is the bible for news room writing, changed their standard from Web site to website.
If you can remember cite is short for citation and site is a location, whether it's online or off, your grammar victory will be within sight!
You can take a quiz here to test your mastery of these three terms.
Affect, Effect, Impact
This one is tricky and I always have to stop and think about it when I use either word. The word affect is most often used as a verb and it means to influence something, while effect is a noun and speaks of the thing influenced. Effect can also refer an outcome or an "appearance or impression" that's created on purpose as in special effect. Generally speaking, if there's a or an or the in front of it, it is an effect.
One of things I started doing while writing was using the word impact instead of affect or effect. It just made it easier. Evidently, this is frownedupon.
For me the easiest way to remember the difference between affect and effect is to ask how the word is going to impact (sorry) the subject in the sentence. Will it happen before or after? In other words, the action (affect) has to happen before you can have the result (effect).
Especially
Is especially a word? I remember reading something several years ago that said the term"especially" is not really a word. Every time I would use it, I would feel bad. However, according to thesethreesources, especially is indeed an acceptable word.
Illicit, Elicit
The word elicit is a verb and means to "draw out" or "obtain." The word illicit is an adjective and means "illegal" or "contrary to accepted morality.
Grammar Monster says that you can remember the difference this way:
Elicit = Extract
The first letter of elicit can serve to
remind you that it means extract.
Illicit =
Illegal
The first three letters of illicit can serve to remind
you that it means illegal.
Paul McCartney turned 70 today! Wow, all of my favorite musicians are getting old. While he will always be remembered as a member of the Fab Four, his musical genius is not limited to his time in the Beatles. I am a product of the 70s by that I mean that the decade of my teen-aged years when I really started listening to music was the 70s. The Paul McCartney music that I associate with most, is his music during this time. So my video tribute to Paul contains songs from that time period.
First up, Sir Paul's contribution to the James Bond series. Live and Let Die.
Next up, one of my favorites, Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey. It is a quirky little song.
Maybe I'm Amazed.
My Love.
Silly Love Songs.
Band on the Run
Jet.
Listen to What the Man Said.
Let Em In.
Not a Wings song, still a great tune (and released in 1970). Hey Jude.
What makes a good dad? It is a question that elicits many different kind of responses. Charles Swindoll writes,
It's tough being a dad. It's almost impossible to live up to our own standards, to say nothing of God's. And the toughest thing of all is that, deep inside, every father knows he is leaving an indelible thumbprint on the life of each of his children. Whether he's nuts-and-bolts practical or scrapes the Milky Way with his visionary ideas; whether he's strong and aggressive or weak and passive; whether he's a workaholic or an alcoholic--there's not a dad that doesn't know his fingerprints are all over his children as he molds and shapes them into the adults they will become.
In his book Promises to Peter, Charles Shedd tells how his
messages on parenting changed along with his experience of fatherhood.
In his early years on the speaking circuit before he was a father, he
called it "How to Raise Your Children." People came in droves to hear
it. Then he had a child and it was a awhile before he gave that sermon
again. When he did, it had a new title "Some Suggestions to Parents."
After a few more years and two more children, he was calling the message
"Feeble Hints to Fellow Strugglers." After several more years and
several more children, he seldom gave the talk. But when he did he
called it "Anyone Here Got a Few Words of Wisdom?"
That's
sort of how I feel after raising four kids. I want to make it clear that
I don't know it all about being a father and fatherhood. I am not even close to being a
perfect dad, but I do know where to get some good advice.
8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 9 For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers;11 just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children,12 so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:8-12
One of the first churches founded on the European
continent by Paul was the church at Thessalonica. Despite their contentious nature, he stayed there
several weeks pouring himself into their lives Working night and day Paul and his group of fellow
missionaries sought to establish them in the faith. Ultimately, Paul was forced to leave Thessalonica
never ever really able to return again for any length of time (Acts 17:1-9). However, they were always in his heart and on his
mind. Knowing that these believers were facing severe
persecution he did two things:
(1) He
sent Timothy to them to encourage them
(2) He
wrote this letter to express his fatherly love for them
As Paul pours out his heart to them an inspired
portrait begins to take shape, that of a dad sharing his love for his children. It is in this portrait that we can begin to see
those qualities and characteristics that make a good dad.
A Good Dad is Affectionate - v. 8a
"Having so fond an affection for you"
Out of a half dozen terms that Paul could have used
to express his feelings to the Thessalonians he chose a very unique word used
only here in the NT. The word is “homeiromai” (hom-ir'-o-mahee) means to long
for (someone), to yearn for them. Paul was so “strongly attached” to them that
he longed to be with them and he wasn’t afraid to let them know.
Paul was many things but he was NEVER cold and
distant toward his spiritual children. It was easy for him to express himself
through affectionate words and actions. Sadly, for many fathers today, affection
is a foreign concept. Whether through upbringing or through a sense of machismo
they have bought into the false idea that it is not manly to be warm and
caring.
Gordon MacDonald, in his book The Effective Father,
includes a chapter called “Please Show Me That You Care.” In it he writes,
The physical expression of our approval is of great
importance. We affirm what a person is, and we appreciate what a person does.
But this assurance must be given in more than words. Affection, the nonverbal
communication of closeness, touching and stroking is among the most important
experiences we share with one another.
Affection is not just an emotional response, but it is
mainly a physical response. I must admit that I have some big concerns about
the “feminization of America” where men are discouraged from being men. But
there is nothing unmanly about showing affection toward your wife and children.
In fact, research has shown that sexual promiscuity in young women can often be
traced back to a lack of fatherly affection in childhood and adolescence.
First, something to get us in the mood. You have to watch the video before you proceed!
Okay, we are on the honor system, you watched the video correct?
I recently came across an article about Facebook and self-esteem. It reminded me that Facebook can affect people in different ways, for good and bad. For me, Facebook has been mostly a positive experience. However, as I began to think about my experiences, it reminded me that there is not only a good and bad, but an ugly side to Facebook as well.
The Good
It's no secret that I spend a great deal of time on Facebook. Too much, I know! However, I am thankful that Facebook came along at I time in my life when I needed a distraction. In many ways Facebook was my companion, in that, I could always log on and find something to read, something to listen to, and even someone to chat with.
Facebook has also been a blessing to me because it has allowed me to keep up with my family and friends, especially my children. Being able to log on to Facebook and see pictures of my grandsons playing tee-ball or riding their bikes or playing with their cars is worth any of the hassles that go along with social networking. I have also been blessed to be able to see pictures of my parents, nieces and nephews and even children of close friends.
Another good thing about Facebook is that it has provided a forum to catch up with former classmates from both high school and college. In 2010, I returned home to Yakima for my 30th high school Reunion. Facebook truly made it a deeper experience because prior to the reunion I was able to reconnect with many of my classmates. Facebook has also made it possible to have a mini-reunion with friends from Bible College. I even got the chance to meet up with one of my college friends and his son at a 49er/Seahawk game last year, all because of Facebook.
The goodest (I know that is not a word, but work with me here) part of Facebook then, can be summarized in one word, "connection." Facebook has allowed me to stay connected with people that are important to me.
The Bad
This article on Facebook Deal breakers does a nice job of summarizing some of the bad stuff about Facebook, and social networking in general. I just want to highlight a few.
2. Constant invites to play Farmville. See also: Bejeweled, Mafia Wars, Cafe World, or “Answer this question about me right now!”
PLEASE stop sending me game requests and I Heart You requests and quiz requests and so on. I think I have pretty much blocked all but the most obscure games. However, just when I think I have them all blocked, new ones pop up! There have been less than five times in my Facebook experience that I have had to block an individual and all of them have been for excessive game requests.
The whole Facebook game thing reminds me of a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "The Game." Here is the trailer for it.
And here's what the game looked like during the episode. This is you on Farmville.
"Just let it go"...
5. People who post vague status updates that sound like suicide notes. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it anymore…” is not an appropriate reaction to your boyfriend forgetting to buy milk.
Facebook does tend to bring out the drama Queens (and kings). We are all allowed to vent once in a while, but please, not every status update needs to be a Shakespearean level scene!
8. Being an a**hole. We all have a few friends who
are quick to correct our grammar, make fun of our status updates, and
start flame wars in comments sections. We should all stop being friends
with these people.
Really, if you can't say something nice...on the other hand, a good snarky, sarcastic comment every so often doesn't make you a jerk. However, even I have to be careful about becoming what I call a "thread hijacker." It has taken a great deal of self-control, but I have learned to let a thread go by that I could easily "hijack." I do this out of respect for the person posting the thread. I know how much I hate it when that happens to me. So the golden rule of commenting should always be first and foremost in mind when deciding whether to comment or not on a thread. Now, if you say something so totally full of you-know-what, then this rule goes out the window.
13. Compulsive check-ins. Stephanie
checked in at Starbucks. Stephanie checked in at work. Stephanie
checked in at the conference room. Stephanie checked in at the park.
Stephanie checked in at the grocery store. Stephanie checked in at the
movie theater. Stephanie checked in at Stephanie’s house. Stephanie is
not our friend anymore.
I am guilty on this one, although I try to limit my check-ins to no more than one a day and two or three times a week if I can help it. Oh, and my machaca check-ins do not count!
14. People who treat all their Facebook friends as potential customers. We wish you the best of luck with the sex toy party business, but we’d rather not be invited to five of them per week.
No one is more free-enterprise than I am. I gladly accept friend requests from businesses that I am comfortable with...however, please do not pop up on chat and ask me if you can meet with me to show me this great new way to earn money. Please don't MLM me on Facebook. PS. I have a post coming on Multilevel Marketing or MLM soon.
15. Conspiracy theorists.9/11 was an inside job. Obama was born in Kenya. Why are we friends with you, again?
17. Politics overload. We love a rousing political
discussion, but using Facebook to bombard your friends with all
politics, all the time, is totally exhausting.
Number 15 and 17 tend to go together. I can tell what "news sources" you've been reading based on all of the links that you post. All of my liberal friends read Talking Points Memo, Huffington Post, the New York Times and the Washington Post and all of my conservative friends read the Daily Caller, Breitbart, the Wall Street Journal and National Review Online. I know where you are coming from already before I read the link you posted.
This has been the hardest one for me because I have a real passion for politics and I definitely have my political viewpoint. One of the reasons I started my blog again is so that I could post political articles without starting a flame war. All of the political back and forth was exhausting for me (I do have a day job!) and it took much of the fun out of Facebook for me. That's not to say that there isn't a place for politics on Facebook...just not all of the time!
20. Negative Nancys.“I just can’t catch a break.” “Why do I even try?” “Same s**t, different day.” Dude, you are killing my life buzz.
Like the drama in number two on the list, we are all entitled to a bad day once in a while, but some people need a dose of the glass half-fulls!
Just to end on a positive note, I wanted to share an article describing the five signs that you might be a Facebook Stalker. We should all take heed!
The Ugly
When it comes to Facebook there is a tendency on the part of many (myself included) to overdo the sharing. I like to live my life transparently. I am who I am and I try not to be anythings else, but...more and more employers and others are using Facebook as a way to check your character. I have shared articles in the past, about how many employers are asking for interviewee's Facebook passwords as a part of the interview process. This has to give one pause when you think about what you should post on your wall. Personally, if I was asked for my Facebook log-in information at an interview, I would get up and walk out. Although I have nothing to hide, I think this is a breech of my personal rights. Unfortunately though, our cyber life is there for most to see. If you are unsure about what your online profile says about you, you should do a google search, this will also help you see how many of your Facebook posts are showing up on the Internet.
So there you have it, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Facebook...at least, according to this Jim.
I am not sure how old I was when I first started drinking Mtn. Dew but it was around the 5th Grade. I remember spending summers at my paternal grandparents house where I had developed some friends that lived in the area. When we could scrounge up some money we would walk down to the little market around the corner and I would buy a comic book (usually the latest issue of the the Fantastic Four) and a 12 oz glass bottle of Mtn. Dew. Later, when I was in high school and had a job (and hence, my own money), I started drinking Mtn. Dews every day (mostly thanks to the soda machine on campus).
For most of my adult life I have had at least one can/glass/bottle of Mtn. Dew, usually more than one. I remember when they started selling Mtn. Dew from the fountain, that was a great day! A 32 oz cup filled with crushed ice and Mtn. Dew...heaven! Whenever we made a trip to the store for grocery shopping the cart was always filled with several 2 liter bottles of the stuff. Hey, a guy had to keep his stock supplied!
Then there came a day when for health and weight issues, I had to make a change. So, I bought my first Diet Dew...blech...however, being the loyal Dewist that I was, I endured the terrible after taste to pursue my affection for the daily Dew. But for a short period of time where I went off all caffeine I have continued to have at least one Diet Mtn. Dew everyday for the last 5 years. The picture below indicates the depth of my "affection" for the Dew (the picture illustrates about a week's supply of Mtn. Dew).
You can see my problem. Recently, I have decided I need to go off the Dew and kick the habit. I need to reduce the amount of caffeine I drink (I ONLY drink diet Mtn. Dew, Iced Tea and water) and I am concerned about the amount of artificial sweetener in my system. So I am going on the wagon so to speak.
Starting tomorrow, I will be giving up the Dew. I want to apologize ahead of time, but I know that I am going to be one grumpy guy for awhile. I figure though that with nearly 1500 Facebook friends (and many other people that care about me), I will have a lot of people looking over my shoulder to make sure I walk the straight and narrow.
So, wish me luck, and it would probably be good to stay out of my way for a few days. If you do find yourself near me and I look like I am having caffeine withdrawals...my advice would be to RUN! Oh, and one more thing...sell your Pepsico stock, their profits are going to take a big hit!
Recently I was on a date and while we were talking she mentioned that she was left-handed. Now this may not seem odd to you, but I immediately perked up my ears. Why? I am glad you asked. I started noticing that most of the women I have dated in the last three years have been left-handed (70%). The thing is, only 10-15% of people are born left-handed. I met all of these left-handed ladies online and none of the websites I used asked whether a person was right or left-handed for profile purposes, so it was not a conscious thing. I only found out about their "handedness" after the initial dates. As you can imagine, this has made me curious.
My initial thought was that it might have to do with the left-brained, right-brained function (or brain lateralization). According to this article:
Brain lateralization, the distribution of function into right and left
hemispheres, is crucial for understanding language, thought memory
and perhaps even creativity. For many years, handedness has been seen
as a possible proxy, an external clue to the balance in the brain
between left and right.
For right-handed people, language activity is predominantly on the left
side. Many left-handers also have left-side language dominance, but a
significant number have language either more evenly distributed in both
hemispheres or else predominantly on the right side of the brain.
Maybe there is something about me and the way I communicate that attracts left-handed women on a subconscious level (or vice versa)?
In general...left-handers have less asymmetric
brains, with more even distribution over the two hemispheres. “Perhaps a
more accurate conceptual way to think about them is as
non-right-handers,” he said. “Many of them are much more likely to be
ambidextrous and have fine motor abilities with their right hands.”
I took several brain hemisphere quizzes and I too seem to be more evenly split in my brain lateralization. On one quiz my score was 50% right brain and 50% left brain. On another quiz I scored a 10 on right brain dominance and a 9 on left brain dominance. This is very unusual for someone that is right-handed. A third quiz was visual in nature and again it indicated right brain dominance. The three quizzes I took are here, here and here. I am in no way vouching for the scientific validity of the quizzes. My results were consistent though.
In the big picture of my life, this probably doesn't mean much, but it does make me go hmmmmm...
The infographic below contains some more interesting facts about left-handedness.
When I look at my writing I notice that I use the word alot, a lot! Unfortunately, I have discovered that the word "alot" is not actually a word, which explains the little red line underneath it whenever I use it...chalk one up to spell check!
Anyway, as I have discovered, I should not be using the word (that isn't a word) "alot" at all, and, I should be using the phrase "a lot" much less than I think I should. Are you confused now?
My problem is that when I use the word "alot" I can never think of another word to replace it, even though I should! So for example, when I write that I like to dance alot, I should instead write, I like to dance a lot, and it would be better if I wrote I like to dance regularly or often. The word "lot" can be both a noun and an adverb. As a noun, "lot" means 'a large extent,' 'a large
amount' or 'a large number.' As an adverb, "lot"
means 'to a great extent'
or 'to a great degree'.
There is of course the word "allot" as well. This word is a verb and means to distribute or to apportion. For example, "I will allot my inheritance to each of my children" (don't count on it kids!).
So by way of review.
Never use the word alot because it isn't really a word.
The term a lot is the opposite of "a little" and can be used both as a noun and an adverb.
The word allot means to apportion or distribute something.
More information can be found here with a few quizzes to test your knowledge on the differences between alot, a lot and allot.
I came across this article on the benefits of kissing when a friend liked it on Facebook. Some of the kissing benefits listed include:
Kissing is a Stress Buster
Kissing is a Natural Pain Killer
Kissing Equals Less Cavities
Kissing Burns Calories (2 calories per minute!)
It also indicates that men and women kiss for different reasons (I know, I am shocked by this news!).
According to this study, women emphasize kissing as a means of evaluating a potential mate and to monitor the ongoing status of a relationship. Meanwhile, men employ kissing as as a precursor to sex and to affect conflict resolution.
For guys, this can be either good news or bad news. The bad news...if she is kissing you a lot she may be testing you to see if you measure up or to see if you are still into her. Either way, you better be on your best game all the time! The good news...if she is mad at you, just give her a long passionate kiss. She may still be mad at you when it's over but you'll get major points for it.
