59

59 and still fine!  toot-toot.

I'm grateful to have lasted so long - In reasonable good health and nearly always good humour - With a fair number of good friends and an astonishingly large crowd of "Family." Still growing too -- we got babies showing up now.

Seems like a good age, I like both the numbers that make up 59, FIVE as well as NINE. I have a fondness for primes and a special fondness for 5 because it's so friendly, so reliable -- like a precisely ticking clock -- its multiplication table so gentle on the nerves that it takes no effort at all to know it.

As for 9! Whoa. It's got quasi-magical qualities, for which reason it is so often at the heart of number-puzzles. Its multiplication table isn't quite as obvious as 5's but it's still very cool. For instance the digits add up to 9 -- you know: 18 (1+8 = 9); 27 (2+7=9) etc. There's a lot of stuff like that connected with nine. My favorite number.

And the other thing I like about 59 is the sense of being on the brink of the abyss ... right John?

Part of my continual excitement about my birthday, every year, is that I never expected to live this long. I honestly didn't think I'd make it past 30. Yet here I am, close to being one year away from DOUBLE THIRTY.

Not quite there yet, but one year away. One measly year.

(and I may not make it. Who knows? There are no guarantees. Except the fact that there are no guarantees).

Wow. 

59. And still Fine.



Wow.

The Secret to Learning How To Forgive

Learning how to forgive others is one of the hardest things to do. Jesus could do it. But can we?

We have all been hurt. Some worse than others. Many more than me. We lack confidence too. Some days we seem to soar with confidence, but all it takes it seems is for one wrong thing to happen and we are ready to give up or fall apart. You see, the problem, I finally figured out, is that we forget who we are.

I am a child of God. God accepted me into his family. I am a son of God. And my value, my worth, comes only from my relationship to Him. Sometimes we forget. My true worth as a person does not come from being so handsome :), and it does not come from my net worth. My value as a person does not depend on the car I drive or the house I live in. It does not come from the family I was born into. It is not connected to being smart, or my job or anything like that. My true worth does not come from who I am married to. When you finally look closely, it boils down to this. I am a child of God. The trouble is that we forget.

We hear the TV talk to us. The TV talks to us constantly, one show after another, day after day after day. It talks to us about revenge, getting even, about being enraged. The TV tells us all the wrong things. The TV tells us to demand certain things from people, like respect and fair play. The TV tells us to seek other’s approval. The TV tells us all the time we should be enraged over this or that and this or that should not be tolerated. The TV lies to us. Not realizing that and taking our eyes off God, his acceptance, His love and His plan for our life and putting our attention elsewhere, we set ourselves up to be hurt.

Sometimes we are insulted. Someone has something ugly to say about us. Sometimes our critics have ulterior motives. An old proverb from India goes, "Some men try to be tall by cutting off the heads of others." They try to make themselves feel better by making others feel bad. You have probably had the experience of being put down by a nasty remark. When that happens, it is easy to forget that others are broken just like us.

Jesus understood that people are broken. No one knows us like He. He forgave the tax collectors. He forgave the prostitutes. And he forgave even Peter for betraying him. On his last day he forgave those who killed him. He knows we all are weak. And he stands ready to forgive us all.

Forgiveness. How do we let it go?

The answer is in trusting God. You trust God for salvation, don’t you? We have to trust him to make things right when we forgive. He will heal our wound so we can move on. We have to depend on Him instead of ourselves.

It is almost against our human nature. But it is the secret of the Christian life, and the secret to forgiving. We just have to trust God. It sometimes can be hard. But is it certainly not complicated. It is the only way to forgive.

SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR YOU
I have made mistakes. Some much bigger than others. To all of you who were hurt by my mistakes and chose to forgive me, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. To any who still have lingering hurt over somthing I did or said, I am sorry.  I am truly sorry and I hope you can forgive.  If we need to talk about it, I would welcome the opportunity to speak to you face to face and ask your forgiveness.

To all who have hurt me at one time or another, today I forgive you. Today, it is over. All is forgiven. Nothing more needs to be said or done, as far as I am concerned.  I forgive you and that is that.  The slate is clean. Everything I was holding on to, I have let it go, and God took it away, far away, as far as the east is from the west.  May God bless us all.

Pool League Sportsmanship

Good sportsmanship is essential in the APA Pool League. I love (as I’m sure you do) and enjoy players who are fun to play with and against, have a positive attitude whether they win or lose, always play by the rules and who go out of their way to make sure everyone has a great time playing in the league. I love players who can win or lose with dignity and respect for their opponent and still visit/party together and enjoy each other’s company. It is such a pleasure to be around those who are fair, courteous and polite day-in and day-out, win or lose.

For most of us, good sportsmanship comes naturally out of respect for others and the game we love, and our behavior is not swayed by our winning or losing. While good sportsmanship may come easy to most of us, sometimes those with a competitive nature need a little practice to put sportsmanship at the top of their game.

We don’t come to APA events to be insulted, offended or disturbed by unsportsmanlike conduct.

The APA (American Poolplayers Association) was founded on the premise of offering amateur pool players the opportunity to get together with friends, family and co-workers to have a fun and relaxing time playing pool. It is intended to be a family friendly event, an event men would not be afraid to invite the wives or kids to watch or join in.

Good manners are imperative and important to the honor of the League. We all appreciate players who boost the morale of players and teams by complementing opponent’s good shots. We appreciate and enjoy those who smile, shake hands, give high-fives and talk friendly to opponents. Tell your opponents "good game!" whether you've won or you've lost.

Recognize and appreciate good performances, especially by the opponent. Applause for an opponent’s good play demonstrates generosity and courtesy and it shows a true awareness of the game and ability.

We see bad examples on TV in the sports world all the time. For many the concept of good sportsmanship has been lost. Some today feel no shame for their awful behavior. While winning at all costs and poor sportsmanship may be condoned and even promoted in professional sports, this does not mean it is acceptable for us normal people to behave this way. We have seen plenty of bad examples. We need good examples. We need leaders. Be the leader, set the example and be everything we expect from Ladies and Gentlemen.