Leaning Toward Wisdom

  Once we were young. Now, we’re old. Okay, older. Being older is good. Often, it’s great! She was always gorgeous. I was always smitten. Madly in love. The love affair began on Wednesday night, July 2, 1975. During a church camp meeting in Oklahoma. I asked her out on a date following church services that night. She said yes. That orange car in the picture was our chariot. We drove around a bit. Talked a lot. Probably went to a Dairy Queen for soft drinks. I can’t remember. Eventually, I kissed her. She kissed me back. And it was all so easy. The conversation. The being together. The kissing. But I’m ahead of myself. First, there was her reputation. And my respect for her. She was known for being determined to remain faithful to her convictions. We shared faith. The Faith. She was smart, dedicated, disciplined, and intentional. The oldest of six kids. It was evident. It was among the top reasons I asked her out. She was beautiful, but that was bonus content. 😉 I hadn’t been in love like this before. Ever. This was different, and I knew it from the very first date. Becoming a Christian was my best decision. Falling in love with her was my second best. She’s only ever taken a backseat to God. Eighteen-year-old me would have denied ever being able to fall harder for her. But he’d have been wrong. Did I always behave like it? Nope. To my shame. But that was primarily due to my immaturity and selfishness. Two problems I’ve experienced and that I often see in the lives of other men, too. I’m not saying it’s a uniquely male weakness, but I’m a guy and it was mine. She’s not perfect. But she’s pretty ideal for me. I’m not perfect. But I’m pretty ideal for her. It’s our story. My story. But let’s not make this entirely about me, or her, or us. Two ideas have been swirling in my head for as long as I can remember. One, my daily, if not hourly, fascination with her. True confession: I think of her every waking hour. And I always have. Sounds like an obsession, huh? Well, it likely is. But in a good way. It’s why many times a day I approach her, seemingly out of the blue (I’m sure that’s what she thinks), and hug her because I’ve been thinking of her a lot before I literally have to hug it out. I’m high-maintenance like that. Two, sadness that too many marriages fail because of selfishness and pride. Mostly, I think of my own selfishness and pride because I know those are ingredients for failure for each of us. Read your New Testament, and you’ll see it more clearly — especially in yourself. This is about us – all of us. Yes, it’s about those of us who are married. And it’s about those of us who aren’t. Because love, fascination, selfishness, and pride are both universal and individual. Masculinity seemed all but gone until we got a new President in America. The shift back toward things our country once cherished and away from the idiocy that overtook us starting in 2009 or so has given many of us hope that men can get back to being men and women can return to their glorified place of being women. Love, pride (not the selfish kind, but the honorable kind), commitment, honor, loyalty, and merit. Those were once givens in our society. They eroded in the past couple of decades because we allowed ourselves to be manipulated away from the things we knew to be true and correct. Now, we’re seeing how bitter, hateful, and outraged the opponents to truth and right can be. But love and right are worth standing up for, and idiocy deserves to be fought vigorously. Without shame or embarrassment. I make no apologies for being a Christian. I make no apologies for being married to the same woman for almost 47 years. I make no apologies for confessing that we were both virgins when we married. I make no apologies that – because of my faith – I choose not to drink alcohol, gamble, or be promiscuous. I don’t care that others have made fun of my stance against alcohol or drugs or illicit sex. The mocking doesn’t bother me. I don’t care that others think putting their wives on display is better than my dedication to putting my wife on a pedestal. I learned as a kid the value of zigging when others are zagging. If you’re devoted to truth and right, you’ll be swimming against the tide. Sadly. When men are fascinated with their wives and maintain or grow that fascination over time, it’s not normal. It should be. When wives respect and let their husbands lead, it’s not normal. It should be. When husbands love their wives, as Christ so loved the Church. Ephesians 5:24-26 “But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…” Some truths are hard. Worth it and doable, but hard. Loving my wife isn’t hard. Never has been. I know, I know. Getting it right – marrying the right person – is monumental! I got it right. Please tell a friend about the podcast! • Join our private Facebook group • Email me

  Show notes? Nah. You don’t need ’em. Not for this episode. Enjoy! Randy Please tell a friend about the podcast! • Join our private Facebook group • Email me

  Your Story Is Their Inheritance Why documenting your life may be the most powerful gift you leave behind “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.” – African proverb We spend our lives accumulating experiences, lessons, values, and insights — but how much of it do we pass on? Not the stuff — the stories. The moments. The decisions. The wisdom. Your story is your legacy. And your family needs it more than you think. Why Your Story Matters We all come from a long line of stories, but too often they fade with time. Maybe your grandfather was a hard worker. Maybe your mother overcame something quietly heroic. Perhaps you have survived things your family doesn’t even know about. When you document your story — even in bits and pieces — you create a bridge. A bridge between your past and their future. Between who you are and who they’re becoming. And no, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Or polished. It just has to be yours. What Your Family Will Miss If You Don’t Without your voice, future generations may only have fragments: A photo with no context. A family name with no meaning. A vague sense that “Granddad was a good guy.” But what if they could hear your words? Understand your decisions? Learn how you navigated heartbreak, failure, laughter, and faith? What if they could know the real you? That’s the kind of inheritance that lasts longer than money ever will. How to Start Documenting Your Story (Without Getting Overwhelmed) You don’t have to write a memoir or produce a documentary. Start simple: Record 10-minute voice memos, sharing key moments Write short stories from your life in a journal Use prompts like: “What’s the hardest decision I ever made?” or “What do I want my grandchildren to know about love, work, or faith?” Create a timeline of your life’s major turning points The key is to start. Perfection is not required. But your presence is. This Isn’t Just About You — It’s About Them Somebody in your family will face something you’ve already faced. They’ll need wisdom. They’ll crave connection. And when they find your words — your story — it will be like finding a flashlight in the dark. And maybe, just maybe, your voice will speak into a moment you’ll never live to see… but your wisdom will. That’s legacy. And that’s leaning toward wisdom. Please tell a friend about the podcast! • Join our private Facebook group • Email me

  I know, I’ve been a dog on a bone with this. Some might say, “You’re beating a dead horse!” Maybe. And maybe that’s the method to my madness in the past few episodes. Do you know about the dead horse theory? It’s had a long-standing place in management lore. It goes like this, according to the Internet. The “Dead Horse Theory” is a satirical metaphor that illustrates how some individuals, institutions, or nations handle obvious, unsolvable problems. Instead of accepting reality, they cling to justifying their actions. The core idea is simple: if you realize you’re riding a dead horse, the most sensible thing to do is dismount and move on. However, in practice, the opposite often happens. Instead of abandoning the dead horse, people take actions such as: • Buying a new saddle for the horse. • Improving the horse’s diet, despite it being dead. • Changing the rider instead of addressing the real problem. • Firing the horse caretaker and hiring someone new, hoping for a different outcome. • Holding meetings to discuss ways to increase the dead horse’s speed. • Creating committees or task forces to analyze the dead horse problem from every angle. These groups work for months, compile reports, and ultimately conclude the obvious: the horse is dead. • Justifying efforts by comparing the horse to other similarly dead horses, concluding that the issue was a lack of training. • Proposing training programs for the horse, which means increasing the budget. • Redefining the concept of “dead” to convince themselves the horse still has potential. The Lesson: This theory highlights how many people and organizations prefer to deny reality, wasting time, resources, and effort on ineffective solutions instead of acknowledging the problem from the start and making smarter, more effective decisions. Today, let’s aim it at ourselves. Personally. Professionally. I encourage you to take it personally. Make it personal. Apply it. Learn from it. And lean toward wisdom. Please tell a friend about the podcast! • Join our private Facebook group • Email me

  When we learn that our behavior and choices belong entirely to us and are independent of what others do, it’s the road less traveled to becoming a better person. Rare are the people who have made up their minds to behave like that, likely because it demands a willingness to suffer wrong and move on to do what’s right. No matter what. Self-discipline is at the heart of enduring suffering, sacrificing, exercising grace and gratitude. All hard things! Easier things are becoming bitter, harboring resentment, and embracing a victim mentality. Hatred. Retribution. Payback. Those are all easy and require no self-control. However, as is often the case, ease can be damaging over the long term. It makes us worse. It wrecks us. Refusing to put in the hard work of temperance ultimately comes at a high price over time. Discipline sometimes has no involvement with others. For instance, about 3 weeks ago, I began mainly eating carnivore. I did it solely for myself, to feel better. I also hope to drop some unwanted weight, but that was secondary. Nobody else influenced my decision. I’m not doing it for anybody else. Self-discipline helps me improve my health and overall well-being. Another area of self-discipline is spending. Since January, I’ve had some planned purchases to elevate my game as a content creator. Late last year, I made some purchases for items I’ve come to need. Much of it involves unsexing things, such as a network-attached storage (NAS) system that allows me to store large video files easily. I invested in a 4-bay device (that means I can load up four large hard drives that will work in unison). It wasn’t cheap. I also invested in some software and other tools necessary for my current role as a content creator, producing three different shows, including this one. I started this journey around 1999, so it’s not how I started. I wouldn’t recommend spending a lot of money to start producing online content. That phone you carry around every day will do the job. I recently encouraged a friend to use his phone and a $150 wireless microphone setup, along with a cheap selfie stick tripod device. It’s a great way to start and can likely serve you well for years to come. Twenty-five years ago, that was NOT the case, so through the years, I’ve invested a significant amount of money in this craft. Until last year, that was all audio, too. New flash: audio is way cheaper than video! 😀 Spending on anything can get out of control. It requires discipline to avoid spending, especially overspending. I’ve hit my limit – planned or otherwise. Okay, I’ve almost hit it. I’ve two items on my list that I still need to purchase, both of which are equipment-related. The most expensive of them is a computer hub so I can more efficiently connect everything to my computer instead of having three different smaller hubs. It’s a device that wasn’t previously available due to technological limitations. After that, I’m intentionally hitting the PAUSE button on spending because I’m going into full-blown saving mode. I’m approaching this with intention, a plan, and self-discipline, just as I do with my diet. Teddy Swims was on Q with Tom Powers, a CBC production. Here’s the YouTube link. Please tell a friend about the podcast! • Join our private Facebook group • Email me

  Thanks for watching. If you choose to listen, thanks for that, too. Other than that, I’ve got nothing. The show speaks for itself. But here are the links I mentioned (and promised to share): LetTheBibleSpeak.tv https://hotspringsvillageinsideout.com/a-champion-bull-rider-who-loves-to-cut-hair/ Please tell a friend about the podcast! • Join our private Facebook group • Email me

  He asks me, “How do you measure success?” I have questions before I answer. “Success in what?” “Sales success is easy to measure. Serenity, not so much.” Turns out he was focused on how I viewed MY success in general. Part of the challenge of measuring or defining success is the common disease of comparisonitis. Please tell a friend about the podcast! • Join our private Facebook group • Email me