An Open Letter to God

Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
You are God known by many names but
Who knows our strengths, weaknesses, needs and wants.

Hallowed be Thou Name.

You are all-knowing, all-powerful, all-healing, all-loving, all-merciful, all that is good and all that is kind.
The same mouth that we praise You, is also the same that uses profanity and obscenities. Teach me to remember that, O Lord.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done on earth as in heaven.

Lord, I have committed my life to You, therefore, I must have total trust in You.

Give us this day our daily bread.
Teach me to lay all of my problems, my concerns, my hopes and my dreams at your feet. In that way, I won’t be distracted away from your love for me. We worry about everything beyond our control, instead of putting our worries in Your Hands.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive our debtors.
You are always merciful and loving towards us with our pathetic and pitiful ways. It seems a lot easier to be less forgiving towards our loved ones and enemies.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Father, we should be eternally grateful for Your patience with us. You have given us the choices to choose good over evil. But we fall by the wayside so much. Strengthen our spirit to recognize your voice to know the differences.

Excerpt from "A Part of Things"

Reflection

I always wondered what you saw in me.
What was our common attraction?
What did we see in each other?
What started this interaction?

Did I seem kind to you?
Did I treat you with respect?
Could you be yourself around me?
What did you expect?

Our children act like us.
they often fight and shout.
Is that how we treat each other,
whenever we open our mouths?

Have we become so selfish and uncaring
that we’d rather ignore these faults?
So mean and unloving
that our children live in doubt.

When I look at you,
I see the sparkles are gone.
This loveless feeling
has taken over our home.

You are not the one to blame,
its not yours to be,
I was drawn to you because
you’re just a reflection of me.
Now, I can see!
A reflection of me!

Excerpt from "A Part of Things"

Sports Opinion

My Yankees are doing pretty good right now, everybody is in sync. Yes, they lost a few but are winning much more. If they can maintain during the playoffs, we got a chance at the series. It’s Boston that I have to worry about. They’re 6 games back, but it's never over with them. I don’t have any comments on the Braves. I was expecting a lot from Forida, too! LA Dodgers started out like gangbusters they slowed a bit but still leading in their division. Michael Vick is back! He did his time, leave him alone and let him go back to work. I can’t remember exactly by someone from the SPCA or PETA left their dog in the car in 90+ weather and the dog died due to kidney failure. I feel for any mistreatment of animals but when folks are so quick to crucify others when they fall, they expect sympathy. SC governor is a prime example. I have never heard so many religious quotes from him until now. He could have used those when he was demanding Clinton’s impeachment. Phil Mickleson hasn’t been able to concentrate on his golf game. Can you blame him? If your loved one is undergoing cancer treatment, what can you focus on other than them? I think someone else in the family, the mother-in-law is going through a similar experience. Tiger is Tiger. But, he has a new addition in his family and I don’t think he’s at the top of his game. Keep in mind, people, I am only giving my opinion. I am not a profession sports critic. I think we are called “arm chair judges.” Anyone not in the games has an opinion. Well, Yang sure came out of the blue and whooped Tiger who has almost never gave up a lead. There are a lot of sleepers in the golf world, they’ll wake up and watch out. Tiger’s advantage is he can ignore the camera and go into a zen-like focus. He’ll need to step up a notch if he wants to stay on top. But, records are made to be broken. The Oakland Raiders are my team. They haven’t done well for years. But I will stick with them. It is always interesting to look at the other teams and see how they will do mid-season. I must not care too much for anything out of Boston. Whoever they play are the teams I want to win. Yes, Boston has some great teams.

Burial of a Statesman and Superstar

Senator Edward Kennedy is being buried today next to his famous brothers John & Bobby in Arlington National Cemetary. He died of brain cancer on August 25, 2009 at 77. I believe with the death of Senator Kennedy the period of bipartisan politics will leave with him. The party in power will no longer need to compromise because it will not be the public interest that will drive them. When I say public, I mean the nation's best interest. Corporate interests are now more important because there is big money to be made. Granted, many of these politicians years ago went at each other's throats but they accepted and respected each other for whom they were. But they had the people's interest in mine. With the age of technology, they don't have to talk to each other face to face, they can just tweet. How personal can that be? Many people will find fault with the Senator's past. How many of us don't have a past? How many of have a clean slate? But, in the end, the Senator and his brothers risked it all to have a better life for all in this country. May the statesman and superstar rest in peace.

Michael Jackson was will be buried on his birthday, August 31st. Sorry, it was cancelled. It may now be September 3, 2009. Michael died June 25th. He was out so long due to the autopsy which found that Michael died due to drugs. The Coroner ruled death by homicide. Some doctors are in major trouble, even though they did it for the money. There is obviously some neglect and moral issues here.

Love This Time

I am convinced that a family that prays together stays together! I don’t just mean participating in church services, I mean praying to God together. What is even more important is praying for each other. Look, we all have individual problems. As couples, it becomes a group problem. At times, the problem seems so overwhelming that it affects the one and the other can’t understand why. That’s why, to me, it’s more important to pray for the other than yourself. Sometimes when we pray for ourselves, we believe we know what to ask for. We don’t. Our individual prayers can be selfish, even though we do have good intentions. When someone else prays for you, they either know or see our weakness. They won’t sugarcoat, but their prayers will be true. What makes them true, you ask? Their love for you will want the best for you. Of course, you are praying the same for your mate. This is not easy, but for better or worse, or whatever joined you in love just really come forward. Fake prayers get fake results. They are like bandaids, they hold the wound together for a while, they cover it up. Eventually, you have to take the cover off and see what’s underneath. Not all wounds heal, the same with relationships. Chip, chip, scratch, scratch and eventually you’ll crack or split. We all start off with the right reason but end up leaving for the wrong reasons. We appreciate God’s blessing and we are grateful for His divine blessings. But if we don’t let him lead our lives, regardless of what we have, we still don’t have a thing! Real love isn’t easy. It requires a lot of hard work. Forgive and move on but don’t harbor resentment. We believed that love brought us together and it could have been. But love didn’t keep you together and it definitely wasn’t the reason you left. But know this, nothing in life is guaranteed! You can make your own assessments. We don't know what the future holds for us. What I do know is wherever you go, whatever you do, if you let God into your life, His love will prevail through any hardship.

Humility

Today was an interesting day. It was a media kick-off campaign for Sober or Slammer for Labor Day at our state fairgrounds. We had few highway safety dignitaries present such as the Director of SC Truckers Association, the Colonels of Highway Patrol, State Transport Police and Department of Natural Resources. We also had the state director of Federal Motor Carriers and a representative from the Department of Transportation from Atlanta, too! Our own Public Safety Director, Deputy & Assistant Director of the Office of Highway Safety was on hand to meet and greet. There was also a good representation of law enforcement there to show support for this great cause. It might not be for those arrested for DUI, but it will definitely help to keep them and others safe on the roadways. Finally, we had our state governor to drop by to say a few words! Yes, he made time for us. Don’t worry I’m going somewhere with this. One, you drink and drive, you will get caught and go to jail. When after everything is said and done, it will cost you more than you think. Two, these are the most humble group of individuals you will ever meet. From the Feds on down, we had some casual and off the wall conversations. Yes, we had just plain and simple talk with regular men and women who worked hard and earned positions to lead and help others. After the event was over, the colonel of HP, a LT, and me went to a local eatery and had lunch. These were just down-to-earth guys, who put in the years and time in patrol and got recognized by somebody that they can get the job done! But, what has humility go to do with this? Ask the question, how can you be a leader if you’re not willing to follow? How can you make decisions that will affect your command, your staff, and your co-workers if you’re not willing to listen to silent cries for help and direction? At the same time, you must be strong enough to make decisions that will not always be accepted by your subordinates but have the common sense to make those necessary changes. But, let’s not forget anyone that works in law enforcement. They are public servants who are underpaid, work in a thankless job, and risk their lives every day, but doing it because they want to make a difference. These men and women deal with surprises everyday! If you had to meet them up close and personal, don’t take it personally. They are working and doing their best to keep you and others safe. So next time if you see them in line somewhere, tell them thanks for the great job they are doing! I know the DPS Staff won’t keep them employed if they don’t!

Thoughts

Have you ever felt that you have so much to say, but don’t? Knowing that you have so much on your mind and want to share your thoughts with someone, anyone. But, who would even care to hear the organized madness of a sane, but irrational man? Haven’t you felt the need to be honest but was afraid of being misunderstood? Sometimes being honest could cause more problems than its worth? More than anything you hate to be responsible for future problems and misunderstandings. But that’s what too much love can do. I will always believe that you can love too hard that it can cause unbearable pain. It can cloud your judgment. It doesn’t matter what stage in the relationship you’re in, starting, married, ending, or divorcing, or dying, there will always be a part of you left behind. Because in all of actuality, love is temporary. No one starts with a conclusion that this love won’t last. But somewhere, somehow, something is seriously wrong with our society. It is accepted to have extramarital relationships from the outside, people who are always willing to forgive. How about the people involved? Loss of trust, betrayal, and denials. What about the wife who finds out the man she loved, the father of her children, the guy she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, is more than just her lover? He’s also the lover of many other women, who quite possibly, might bring more than the other woman home but STDs, too! There are documented cases where women have left their men over more rivial matters than adultery, abuse, financial and other serious cases. They have left their men over snoring, not putting their clothes in the laundry hamper, even not taking care of regular household duties. I’m not excusing women on this. Some of you are no better! So, "For Better or Worse" is just a statement. Is it a belief to be taken seriously. What happened to that person that you fell in love with? This is not the movies we see that have happy endings. To me, that’s why God and faith play a major role in my life. The devil does his best to turn cracks into valleys. Anything to take away your joy, which is also your strength!