Being a rather frugal guy I keep up on different websites to see the scuttlebutt on new sales or free items both in stores and on the web. Some have panned out, others have not. The title of this note comes from an incident I found on one of the boards regarding a special coupon available to members of a store's club. Inside scoop stated a game would be marked down to $20 and the coupon was for $20 off, essentially making the game free. The boards were flooded that day with people scoring free games left & right, traveling to 4 or 5 different locations to "cash-in". As the afternoon rolled around the store got the clue and shut down the coupon acceptance but not before thousands of dollars of merchandise was lost.
The store's POS (Point-Of-Sale) team neglected to mark the particular game in their system as a sale item, which allowed the coupon to be used. People were "legitimately" using the coupon, but many were abusing the glitch to line their own pockets by trading the games back to the store for credit or to other game stores for profit.
This week another "glitch" was found, 2 more coupons would render the advertised games as free with many on the boards waiting with baited breath to see if another field day of hoarding could be had. Slowly the board began to fill on Sunday morning with reports that the coupons did not work, with the rare instance of a GM overriding the system to avoid a scene. This time the POS team made sure that the games were entered into the system as on sale to void the using of the coupon. Many had griped about it while others told them to "suck it up" and be happy for the week before's freebie.
So many times we fall down because of a flaw or bad decision in our lives. So many times we feel helpless and devoid of confidence when it happens that we continue to fall prey to it's effects time and time again. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can learn from our failures, we can learn from our mistakes, we can learn from our bad decisions. By doing that, we can "fix the glitch" so when we face the challenge again we can make a better choice and break the constant cycle of defeat.
Hell, I have a bunch of "glitches" in my life right now that need attention. I may feel defeated for a short time, but I will learn from them and prepare a plan to "fix" them for the next time. I will overcome, I will win the race, I will become the man I am supposed to be.
"Fall down 7 times, get up 8..." - Japanese proverb
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
"Walks" of Life
When I run in the mornings I use the time to develop ideas, sort out problems & frustrations, or just contemplate life. This morning was no different, I noticed that the sidewalk plows had not run in a few days as the mild snow dustings of the last week accumulated. This made the perfect canvas for footprints in the snow, all sorts of different prints. There were large bootprints, small bootprints, ladies tennis shoeprints, YakTrax prints (those were mine), prints that slid, prints that were crisp & clear. There were animal prints as well, large dogs & small dogs, squirrels & even rabbits.
Different prints from all walks of life. Some taken seriously (those who were exercising), some taken in fun (the sliding prints), but all filled with some sort of purpose. This morning I think of some of the important walks we take in life from our first steps, our first walk to school alone (or walk to the bus stop), our graduation walk(s), the walk down the aisle, the walk to quiet our newborns, and our final walk to glory.
We all experience our own "life walk" at our own pace. Some are a bit further down their path than others, some seem to struggle and dawdle along, while still others are just beginning to take their first steps. We can all learn from each other's "walks" by erecting mile markers or milestones along the way as an encouragement to those behind us. Kind words, advice, time, comfort, giving, these milestones are great encouragers.
Set up some milestones today along your walk for others to find and gain from...
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 Jn 1:6, NIV
"Everywhere is walking distance IF you have the time..." - Steven Wright
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
Different prints from all walks of life. Some taken seriously (those who were exercising), some taken in fun (the sliding prints), but all filled with some sort of purpose. This morning I think of some of the important walks we take in life from our first steps, our first walk to school alone (or walk to the bus stop), our graduation walk(s), the walk down the aisle, the walk to quiet our newborns, and our final walk to glory.
We all experience our own "life walk" at our own pace. Some are a bit further down their path than others, some seem to struggle and dawdle along, while still others are just beginning to take their first steps. We can all learn from each other's "walks" by erecting mile markers or milestones along the way as an encouragement to those behind us. Kind words, advice, time, comfort, giving, these milestones are great encouragers.
Set up some milestones today along your walk for others to find and gain from...
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 Jn 1:6, NIV
"Everywhere is walking distance IF you have the time..." - Steven Wright
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Be Yourself... No Matter What...
I sit here at the computer at 4am, just came back from a run to clear my head. One thing I seem to constantly have to learn is to be myself no matter what. Trying to be everything to everybody will get you nowhere but depressed. I admire my namesake from the bible because he wasn't like any of the other disciples. He was an outsider, a tax collector, a person despised by his own people (the Jews), and yet Christ made him one of the 12 to be a part of His life and help to spread Christ's ministry to the known world.
I don't think that meeting was happenstance. I believe it was a message that God (and Christ for that matter) accepts and loves everyone, from the fishermen to the tax collectors. I don't know what kind of relationship Matthew had with the others, I can imagine he may have remained an outsider because he didn't have much in common with the rest other than being a Jew and being chosen by Christ. I'm sure he had his own moments of disconnection & depression about being "on the outside looking in".
Had some things happen last night that really nailed it for me. My own moment of disconnection & depression which I tried to medicate through some unhealthy choices. Let me say that the feelings you have about rejection aren't going to go away with a couple of lemon bars or handful of Chex mix. I tried to sleep but decided that I needed to get out and run to deal with what I was feeling. Having time to clear my head and begin to work through these emotions has helped a bit. It's helped me to get this stuff down in writing for further contemplation and time to begin the healing process.
One thing that came up during my run was an old adage, "You can please all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time." You need to be who you are no matter what. If this doesn't please or "click" with other people, so be it. We are all different, we come from different walks of life, there isn't one person on the planet that can please or "click" with everyone. What fun would life be if we were all the same, had all the same interests, looked the same, talked the same, reasoned & thought the same? Diversity is a good thing, learning from others is important, sharing with others is important, being who God made you to be is important. Trying to please everyone or being someone you're not shortchanges not only yourself, but others as well.
Rejection will sting, I can understand and sympathize with that, but it will sting less if you truly tried to be who you were made to be and not some false self to gain acceptance. I think of the veteran that stands at the corner of River Avenue & 9th Street. I thought he was odd, standing there in an old Navy uniform with a flag and saluted cars as they passed by. But now I think of him this morning and I have a sense of awe for him. He was out there doing what he wanted to do, regardless of what others thought. He got the occasional honk of approval but mostly was ignored or gawked at by passersby.
"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him." Mat 9:9, NLT
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
I don't think that meeting was happenstance. I believe it was a message that God (and Christ for that matter) accepts and loves everyone, from the fishermen to the tax collectors. I don't know what kind of relationship Matthew had with the others, I can imagine he may have remained an outsider because he didn't have much in common with the rest other than being a Jew and being chosen by Christ. I'm sure he had his own moments of disconnection & depression about being "on the outside looking in".
Had some things happen last night that really nailed it for me. My own moment of disconnection & depression which I tried to medicate through some unhealthy choices. Let me say that the feelings you have about rejection aren't going to go away with a couple of lemon bars or handful of Chex mix. I tried to sleep but decided that I needed to get out and run to deal with what I was feeling. Having time to clear my head and begin to work through these emotions has helped a bit. It's helped me to get this stuff down in writing for further contemplation and time to begin the healing process.
One thing that came up during my run was an old adage, "You can please all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time." You need to be who you are no matter what. If this doesn't please or "click" with other people, so be it. We are all different, we come from different walks of life, there isn't one person on the planet that can please or "click" with everyone. What fun would life be if we were all the same, had all the same interests, looked the same, talked the same, reasoned & thought the same? Diversity is a good thing, learning from others is important, sharing with others is important, being who God made you to be is important. Trying to please everyone or being someone you're not shortchanges not only yourself, but others as well.
Rejection will sting, I can understand and sympathize with that, but it will sting less if you truly tried to be who you were made to be and not some false self to gain acceptance. I think of the veteran that stands at the corner of River Avenue & 9th Street. I thought he was odd, standing there in an old Navy uniform with a flag and saluted cars as they passed by. But now I think of him this morning and I have a sense of awe for him. He was out there doing what he wanted to do, regardless of what others thought. He got the occasional honk of approval but mostly was ignored or gawked at by passersby.
"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him." Mat 9:9, NLT
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
"Scratches" & Milestones...
This morning when I was brushing my teeth, I was staring into the mirror when light had kind of "glinted" off of something on my shoulder. This caught my attention so I started to inspect my shoulder and saw faint remnants of stretch marks that criss-cross my body. Now a faint pale, they are reminders of where I had once been. I remember when those marks were pink (and sometimes red) as the skin stretched and strained its way to mold itself to my humongous frame of fatness. I recall irritated areas that literally broke apart & wept because it could not hold the weight. Those were painful days for me, painful and embarrassing. And how they itched! The new stretch-marks growing skin felt like ants crawling all over my body.
One summer I remember 2 friends from my neighborhood and myself rode our bikes to my aunt & uncle's house to go swimming. My aunt said we could stop by and go swimming if someone was home and so on one particularly hot day we headed over. I took off my shirt before getting into the pool when one friend commented, "Where'd you get all those scratches?" not realizing they were stretch-marks. My other friend knew what they were and quietly told the other to let it go. I played it off, but that was the last time I took my shirt off in public (if I had the choice to do so).
I posted a status a couple of weeks ago about people or things can do nothing to make a person change but rather the person has to WANT to change. I look back at all the things said, the embarrassing situations, & even the physical signs, and find that none of that had any effect on my own mindset. It wasn't until I wanted to change that change began to happen for me.
Pulling my loose skin tight I can see those stretch-marks, feeling them as they have now become merely ripples and no longer prominent. This morning when I got up I noticed the necklace holding my original wedding band had broke and come loose from around my neck. I put the necklace away until I can get it fixed, while the wedding band sits on the index finger of my right hand. I'll wear it there for a bit and then put it away so I won't lose it. But the stretch-marks will stay with me forever as a constant reminder of where I've come from and how far I've come. They have become a milestone in my life, and now I appreciate them as just that.
I wonder what other areas of my life contain stretch-marks, reminders of where I've come from and how far I've come. I'm sure they are there...
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
One summer I remember 2 friends from my neighborhood and myself rode our bikes to my aunt & uncle's house to go swimming. My aunt said we could stop by and go swimming if someone was home and so on one particularly hot day we headed over. I took off my shirt before getting into the pool when one friend commented, "Where'd you get all those scratches?" not realizing they were stretch-marks. My other friend knew what they were and quietly told the other to let it go. I played it off, but that was the last time I took my shirt off in public (if I had the choice to do so).
I posted a status a couple of weeks ago about people or things can do nothing to make a person change but rather the person has to WANT to change. I look back at all the things said, the embarrassing situations, & even the physical signs, and find that none of that had any effect on my own mindset. It wasn't until I wanted to change that change began to happen for me.
Pulling my loose skin tight I can see those stretch-marks, feeling them as they have now become merely ripples and no longer prominent. This morning when I got up I noticed the necklace holding my original wedding band had broke and come loose from around my neck. I put the necklace away until I can get it fixed, while the wedding band sits on the index finger of my right hand. I'll wear it there for a bit and then put it away so I won't lose it. But the stretch-marks will stay with me forever as a constant reminder of where I've come from and how far I've come. They have become a milestone in my life, and now I appreciate them as just that.
I wonder what other areas of my life contain stretch-marks, reminders of where I've come from and how far I've come. I'm sure they are there...
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
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