a time of correction...

so there's a lot going on with us right now...some things are a continuation of things that have been brewing for a while, some new, some serious, some just tedious...

the past few days, i've been in the eye of the storm emotionally...physically...spiritually...not a bad place. just in the middle of it. a lot of decisions. a lot of thoughts. a lot of recriminations. some sadness. a touch of anger. finally, i hope, some peace.

as i spoke with a dear friend about it, i was saying that we have been talking at work about the real estate market "correcting" right now. the market here in cali has been out of control for the past few years...much like the stock market a few years ago...to the point where it was like monopoly money almost. surreal. for those making money or taking advantage of the 'equity' in homes, you realized that it probably wouldn't last, but many...maybe most...didn't do anything to really prepare for that. now that the market is 'correcting' (i.e. getting more in line with what it actually should be)...there are some folks in their darkest moments and some who have been disciplined, diligent and prepared are able act and step in to provide help, and even make a bunch of money buying and selling foreclosures.

this 'correction' has affected my company. forcing us to reflect on the way we have been doing business, and to take bold action to 'reinvent' portions of our business. one could argue that some of the 'reinventions' are really just - again - getting more in line with the way it actually should be.

if you know me at all, you'll realize that once i jump on a train of thought...i usually ride it out... :-)

in our family...we've been going places as a family. we've socialized as a family. we've ministered as a family. but we haven't just been a family. and there's now obvious fall out from that. it's being corrected.

in our health...we eat out all of the time. we eat on the run. i eat when i'm stressed, sad, scared...there are obvious issues that arise from that. it's being corrected.

in our walk with God...well...let's just leave it at - it's being corrected.

i won't keep going...but, let's just say i could...

the Word says that God disciplines those He loves. you could say He 'corrects' those He loves. we are in such a time of correction now, and just like a swift smack with a wooden spoon...it hurts a bit. sometimes the sting even lingers. and we have a choice to do as we're told. follow the path that God puts in front of us...listen to His wisdom and direction...or be left with the consequences of disobedience. i would say we've done a bit of both...and i would say God has been very clear about what we are to do next. we have a choice because we have a loving Father.

what will we choose?

"Value this time in your life kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so quickly. When you're a teenager you think you can do anything, and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Your thirties, you raise your family, you make a little money and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?" Your forties, you grow a little pot belly you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Your fifties you have a minor surgery. You'll call it a procedure, but it's a surgery. Your sixties you have a major surgery, the music is still loud but it doesn't matter because you can't hear it anyway. Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale, you start eating dinner at two, lunch around ten, breakfast the night before. And you spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate in soft yogurt and muttering "how come the kids don't call?" By your eighties, you've had a major stroke, and you end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse who your wife can't stand but who you call mama. Any questions?" Mitch Robbins (Billy Crystal's character in City Slickers, 1991)

ok. so this was hilarious in 1991...I was 22.

we've been talking a bit about aging: sagging, hair color, wrinkles, etc. it has been determined after many discussions and clinical analysis that aging should be avoided :-) too much maintenance and prep time involved every day.

we'll take the wisdom and peace, the 'fruits' of our labor and the friends. we've just decided to dump the other junk.

really, what it comes down to is this. all of those jokes we made about hair dye and botox? not so funny anymore. in fact, we may start clipping two-for-one coupons!