“Life Long Friend(ships)”

This one has been a work in progress for some time now. The concept has been there but the words and the direction wasn’t. Then there is that whole “timing” thing. The time is right.

As many of my postings, I want you the reader to think. Of course I use my own personal experiences to give you some imagery or something along those lines, but your thinking and experiences are what count.  

Let’s start off with the understanding that this is my perception of friends/friendships. There are different levels, some would say of friends/friendships. I tend to believe that may be true depending on your definition. You have them too and honestly, let me know yours. Multiple comments and definitions are what makes this blog so exciting. Feedback.

Journey with me for a few minutes.

I’m very lucky to say that I have been blessed with many people in my life that I can call friend. Some I haven’t seen in years. Our lives have changed and we may not be close as we once were. Some are really new…infant stage if you will. Then there are the Life Long ones. I have one that comes to mind just by stating this title. One that I’ve had since I was five years of age.  There are so many stories that I could share, but will only give you the captions to some of them. “The green machine” stories. “Freshman year” stories. “Laser tag” stories. One of my personal favorite, “Brown robe in college” stories. My list could go on and on. That one person, my life long friend, is in every one with me.

There have been only a few times when our friendship was strained, if you will. One argument that set us to not speaking for a few days. Ever have one of those? I know of times with others, we still haven’t spoke. Pride or stubbornness has been in the way to resolve those issues. But this friendship I’m speaking of, that didn’t happen. We worked it out. Of course we all have our own way of dealing with things, but we both realized that our friendship was bigger than the argument. More important.

I know I know, peoples’ lives change and sometimes you cannot control the friendship fading into the past. Unfortunately, that can happen. How about you and that friend don’t get along anymore? I’ve seen that happen too many times. Guess some would say that you wouldn’t want to call them a friend. So it’s over. Then we move on, right? Some do, some don’t. Some hold grudges and go out of their way to make the other person miserable, or try to. Who really pays for those actions? It’s kind of pointless and yes I’ve done it before.

Bet you’re wondering where I’m going with this? I’ll tell you.

Friends and friendships are actually more fragile than we appreciate. Sometime we use those words rather freely. I have. A friend is a person with feelings and emotions, just like you. I know you know this but sometimes we forget about that and absorb ourselves into our lives. Just assuming our friends don’t mind what we do and will be there for us, even if we hurt them. They’re our friends, aren’t they supposed to be there, no matter what?

Friends need to be there for us, yes and you for them. Think about that for a second. Seriously…have you had a friend/friendship that was uneasy or on the brink? I know I’ve been there. Stubbornness on my part and they decided to walk away from me. It wasn’t worth it for them. After some serious reflection on my actions, I don’t blame them. They gave anything and everything to me when I needed it. I took it for granted and they didn’t want that anymore.

So I’m asking you to seriously think about your friends…all of them. List them if you want to. I do listings to help me see it in black and white. Makes things clearer for me to see. Think about the wonderful things they given you over the years. Think about what you’ve done for them. I’m not saying this with the frame of mind that everything is in trouble…not at all. I’m sure there are many wonderful stories out there and I wish you would share one with me.

My point to this today…do not take your friends for granted. We all have friends and we are friends with others. Be there for each other. Support each other. Pick each other up when we fall, dust them off if necessary. They would do it for you. Oh, tell them what they need to hear…not just what they want to hear. You would expect them to be honest with you.

So to end, think about your friends. Talk to them. Appreciate them. This journey of Laughter Life and Food is about many things, this being one. If you have a friend you haven’t spoke to lately, do yourself a favor. Call, text, write them. Reach out to them. Do not let Pride end something that I’ve done before. Don’t miss out on your life long friend(ships).

“Let’s Paint a Picture”

We all understand that a picture can be worth a thousand words or so we’ve been told. How about a picture that you paint? How many words did it bring to your mind? May have been hundreds that helped you create that picture. I know from my personal experiences, there have been hundreds of words describing most of my paintings…sometimes not that many, just one. Let’s take it a step further tonight. Let’s us paint a picture together. No you don’t have to get art supplies for this exercise. Our painting is going to be done by words. My imagination can paint a vivid picture…as can yours.

If you want to participate in this, clear your mind. If you don’t and still read, thank you. Ready? The words are going to be descriptive and should help you paint a picture. Yours may look like mine did earlier today and then again it may not. Still excited to hear about your “painting”.

Ready? Here we go.

A set of three crosses on a hill, a place named the Skull. The sky is dark and gloomy. By looking in the sky, you can almost hear the thunder in the near distant. A warm not so calming breeze is in the air. The smell of sweat and blood is moved throughout the air because of that breeze. Those three crosses are high off the ground and three men are fixed to each of them. Two tied to the cross, the other man, not so much. He may have been tied as well but also something done extremely horrific. Spikes, roughly 12 to 16 inches long. Some type of iron or metal. Effective for the purpose. One goes through His feet, one foot over the top of the other running done the cross support beam. Each wrist is stretched across to the cross beam. One spike through each wrist, attaching Him to that cross. He had a crown of thorns placed on His head as a mockery to Him being a king. The thorns were roughly one to two inches in length. It wasn’t just laid there, it was pressed firmly, piercing His brow, encircling His head. Blood and sweat were running down this man’s face. Remember, He was made to carry that cross to the place where it now stood with Him on it. A soldier eventually took a spear and punctured His side.

This man, had a name, Jesus Christ.

There are several people gathered at this event. What do these people look like? Probably soldiers, city folks interested to see what is going on. Commoners.  Those people there are definitely different from each other. Some are there because they are assisting in making sure this crucifixion takes place. Some were there to wonder when this king would save Himself. Some were there to cry out. Sadness was in their eyes and hearts. A few have followed this man unconditionally because of His teachings. They gave up their past lives to follow Him.

How does your painting look? I’m sure it was very detailed from your creative imagination.

Why did this event happen? Most of you know why but I want to say it very clearly. I don’t want any misunderstanding of it. It was done for you and me! You get that? This man, this king, the Son of the Almighty God, died for you and me. How many times do you forget about that? I do a lot. A man, died for me and didn’t have to. Chose to. Why? He saw something in me worth dying for. God sent His perfect non-sinning Son to take on all my mistakes, sins, whatever you want to call them, so I can live. I don’t deserve that gift. God gave me His grace. Not only did He take on all my sins, yours were taken too. All of mankind’s sins from the beginning at the garden to the end of times…every one of them.

In the Bible, Mark 23:34 states this, “Jesus said, Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Really? He is asking God to forgive us. He has just been nailed to a cross to die by mankind and yet He is asking for God to show us mercy.

I’m sure your picture was awesome. I hope it made you think about something we may have not thought about in a few days or weeks. Stop and think about it this way, if you have a child or children, would you offer them to be crucified for everybody’s sins? No you would not. You would gladly die for them, but not have them die for your sins or anybody else’s .

I want to share with you something. The Almighty God, creator of everything….EVERYTHING, thought we were worth something so He sent HIS son to die for us. Because of Jesus’ death all those years ago, we can live. We were given a gift. Thank God for that gift. If you don’t have a relationship with Him or have chosen not to, He is waiting. He is right there with open arms, waiting for you to come to Him. Trust me, I chose for years to avoid that relationship. I thought I didn’t really need it. I was wrong. God never gave up on me and will always be with me. He will do the same for you.

Purposeful Meaning

Have you ever thought about this blog’s title? Well of course I have…one would hope right?!

What do those three words mean? No offense to the word “and” either. Let’s focus on the three of Laughter, Life, and Food for this thought provoking article. With that, no I will not define any word to you. I know all of you can define them, probably better than me. Besides it’s your definition I want to hear about.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “Laughter”? For me, a great moment. Amusement. Things along that path. How about “Life”? You started thinking a little deeper there didn’t you? I do. Maybe your existence. I am pretty sure that you all have great thoughts flowing now. One more word, “Food”. For me, loving to cook, my mind goes all over the place. I love all kinds of food to eat. From wood-fired pizzas to fish tacos all the way to a delicate cheesecake (Any of you that personally know me, know I love making all of those and then some). I bet on that word, you started thinking of your favorite dish. Maybe you thought of a comfort food. Some may have even thought of a deep-fried Twinkie (And if haven’t had one and can, it’s a must).

Do you really see anything not so good with those three words? If you really wanted to sit and think about it, you probably could. But was your first thought negative? Maybe the lack of laughter, life and food, you can get upset or depressed. Guess what? I know this first hand. From not having a job to moving to loss of a family member to seeing folks dying because of the lack of food is rather upsetting isn’t it?

I found the antonyms for each of those words. Imagine this blog being called, “Despair Death and Beverage”. Kind of makes you frown a little. Depending on the beverage, you may not frown all the time. I know that I would not have the great opportunity to hear from you as much as I have in the past. Then again, would I? Would you make comments to that blog?  Your feelings wouldn’t be the same either. Once you finished reading the articles, you would be left with an emptiness.

Now that I’ve got you thinking on all kinds of levels, I want your complete and total attention. Clear your mind of the past not so fuzzy feeling paragraphs. Ready? I will wait for you to clear your mind….

Laughter Life and Food does describe me. It’s who I am. But going deeper, it’s who you are too. Do you see why I called this that title a little more clear now? This isn’t just about me. It’s not just about you either. It’s about us. Our journey together of Laughter Life and Food is only going to get better and better. You know why? It’s because of us. This is not just about me in this blog…yes I use my personal experiences to drive a point but don’t you have the same experiences? Yes you do. Laughter Life and Food is OUR experiences.

So the next time you use any one of those words, think briefly of how you feel. That is you or something that means something to you. I’m going to step out on a limb and say, you felt pretty good at that moment one of those words was used. I’m just asking you to stop and think. Realize this please; even when you may lack one of those words or all of them, you are a part of something. Come back to this blog…It’s not just mine, it’s ours. Now go enjoy your Laughter Life and Food with someone!

Super (Hero)

Now many of you out there have your own personal definition of a super hero. I know that I do. Want to have some fun? Of course you do….who doesn’t. You all know that I love defining words and I will do it here. Actually let’s break down the word “super hero” and see what we get.

The definitions come from the website dictionary.com.

Super is defined as: of the highest degree, power, etc.

Hero is defined as: a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities.

Was that different from the typical comic book hero we all have read or dreamed of becoming as a child? For me, yes. Wanna know something about me? There is a picture out there of me in a homemade superman costume…tights and all. If you’ve seen that picture, please be kind. No I have never been able to leap over a building in a single bound or run faster than a speeding bullet, however, I felt like a super hero that day. Why? It is singled down to one reason…the costume. I got it in my head that because of it, I could do anything. Did I do some grand deed or have powers, nope I wasn’t even close.

Bet you’re wondering why the title is about super heroes. I’m going to briefly make you think for a few minutes. Ever meet a hero? I have, several times. Want to hear some from my list?

My unconditionally giving mom and dad. My compassionate brother. My loving sister-in-law (who has a special look, which I love). My courageous sister.

"Really Michael…those are easy to identify." I am going somewhere with this I promise.

How about those in the Armed Forces, police, firemen or EMS? Those seem like the definition of a hero…actually they deserve “super” in front of hero. I met a guy in the USMC in Asheville. Great guy. Defending my freedom at his own personal risk. Met a firefighter in Asheville too. Also, a true hero. I have a friend who is a hero to me because of her noble qualities…telling me exactly what I didn’t want to hear but told me anyway (she was risking a lot by doing that too).

Hey guess what? I have even considered myself a hero from time to time…nothing super, but I have done some brave deeds, noble if you will. I’ve helped others in need. Wouldn’t someone who has gotten blood from the American Red Cross thought of me as their hero? Probably…again not super.

Did I ever swoop in and save the day? Probably not, but did I help someone. Swooping in and saving the day is really a dramatic statement, don’t you think (see, I’m asking you to think).

Anyway, think about your hero or heroes (I'll wait for you think for a second). Got your list?

Why are they that to you? Did they fall into those definitions? I bet they did. What makes you think of them as a hero or even a super one? Have you ever been told that you’re a hero? How did it make you feel? I’m not a betting guy, but I would say you felt pretty good. But that feeling was a side-effect…you still would have done it because of who you are…a hero.

Do you know what it takes to risk everything for others? Most heroes do it because of who they are. Brave and noble. I know one Super Hero who risked His life for mine. Died for me. I didn’t deserve it either (some of you know me too well). You know whom I speaking of? In case you don’t, it was Jesus.

This was simply a journey regarding super heroes. We all have them. We all can be one from time to time too. I need them. You do too. Acknowledging the comic book ones on tv and movies is fun, but shouldn’t we do it for the non-fiction ones more? I believe we should.

I’m going to make you all a promise right now (and with it being typed out, I cannot go back on it), if you have been, are or become one of my heroes throughout my life, I will tell you. You deserve to know it. Maybe you won’t make that promise online as me, but promise yourself you will do that…tell someone that they are your hero. Watch them light up. Because when it happens to you, you also will light up and that feeling you get, you will have given to them.

Thank you for continuing this journey of Laughter Life and Food with me, I’m truly honored. You know who you are and I thank you for being my heroes. Now go be a hero and or thank yours today!