11. January 2008 by BruceSmith.

Dear Bruce,

I am at a place in my life where I need to make a big decision for my future.  My wife and I both have arrived at this place at the same time, and we are bored, frustrated, and unfulfilled in our current careers.  We know there is something more out there, but change would upset everything we know.  We both feel like we know what we should do, but we are scared to death to make such drastic changes at this stage in our lives.  It could mean a move and/or a change in career for both of us.  It would really feel like we are starting all over again at nearly 40 years of age.  How do we decide what to do, and how do we do it?

Eagerly awaiting you advice,

C

C,

You are in a good place!  Yep, a good place.  It may seem like you are in as frustrating a place as you could imagine, but I would like to point you to the story below for some encouragement.  I wrote this some time ago, and think you will find it relevant to your situation.  Step out onto the waters, and watch as you discover that your chaos is heaven sent.

There are moments in our lives when we have to make decisions which lead to major change.  In those moments, amidst what appears to be the promise of total chaos, our only hope is found in the promise of God’s provision for us.  As we look ahead and see waters raging all around us we are tempted to believe our demise is assured.  Yet, some storms, some challenges, some tempests are ordained by God to lead us to brighter futures.  If we will be willing to endure the changes He is leading us to we can take hope in the security of being in His plans for us.  Any other course is, at best, mediocrity.  The life we were meant to live is often uncovered on the surface of uncharted waters.  Read on and find this truth revealed in the life of Peter, a man who dared to do the impossible. He jumped in, and you can do the same!

The Call to Something More: walking on water

What if you could walk on water? Pursuing the “what if” is not easy, but the rewards are worth everything you risk. We often refer to this hypothetical dream as if it has never happened or we refer to it as if only one guy has ever done it. In reality, Jesus was not the only person to have ever pulled this off. Earlier in the book, we looked at the first part of the account, but now let’s look at Matthew’s version of the rest of the story.

 “…and in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” (Matthew 14:25-29)

 What an experience this must have been. Amidst a major storm, the winds howling, the rain pounding down, and in all likelihood surrounded by waves as tall as Peter stood himself, this man got up his nerve enough to take an enormous risk. He got out of the boat, and walked on water! What an absurd notion for anyone in the real world to even suggest something so stupid. Who did this guy think he was anyway? And if it were not ridiculous enough already to attempt something so bizarre, this guy wanted to try this in the middle of a violent storm. What arrogance!

But was Peter really arrogant, stupid, and over-confident or was he pursuing life as God intended it to be pursued? We get too few big moments in life. What if Howard Schultz would have taken no for an answer when he was first refused in his petitions to join the ranks of Starbucks? What if Mother Theresa had not given her life to the poor?  What if Martin Luther King Jr. had not stood so boldly?  What if the man crippled with palsy had never been carried to Jesus for healing? What happens if we miss the big moments life brings our way, and we don’t venture out in new directions? Do we settle for less? We certainly do.

For those who have never taken a risk on faith in God, they miss the abundant life He offers. The fear of giving up what we know can leave us spiritually crippled in this life, never knowing what it means to live a life of significance. Get out of the boat; take a chance on God. See what He is capable of doing in and with your life. God can and will instill new visions, bigger dreams, and greater clarity in your life when you trust Him for your purposes.

He may call you to things you never imagined, or He may fulfill that desire in you that has yet never been voiced, planned or attempted. He may use you in leadership to help others rebuild homes, cities, countries and lives. He may use you to bring a plan into shape that will help numerous people recapture their lives. Are you willing to take a risk? Are you willing to dive in?

Peter’s venture toward a massive, God-sized risk was not perfectly executed, but it certainly was filled with drama, excitement and an exhilarating experience of the power of God. The story continues to unfold as we read,

 “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when he got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’” (Matthew 14:30-32)

 Peter, a man taking an audacious risk, started out in confidence and strength, and then got distracted by the storm around him, causing him to lose focus and lose sight of his dream to do what had never been done before. In the midst of the storms of our lives, God is calling us to get out of the boat and take a chance on something more. He always wants to pull us beyond ourselves toward bigger things. When we are willing to take a risk on His agenda the unthinkable dream can come into shape. When our eyes focus too much on what life looks like from our vantage point, however, we settle for less, and we begin to sink. We must learn to ask, amidst the winds and waves, what God is calling us to.

As it was for Peter, so it will be with us, there will be moments of fear and distraction. We will not get it right all of the time. Storms will continue to rage around us, and we will feel vulnerable. Thankfully, the Creator looks on us with compassion and love, and extends His reach to us during those moments. God does not take joy in our drowning. Rather, He desires that we walk on the water beside Him with poise, composure, and strength, no matter how big the waves that threaten us.  

What is God calling you to now? Whether you find yourself at this moment amidst great trouble or if you find yourself on top of the world, God’s call is the same. It rains on the just and the unjust, and it is also true that the just and the unjust find success. In either place, God is calling us to know, love and serve Him. The void that exists for those who have gotten more than a life’s share of rain is the same void that exists in the heart of the person that has seen a life of plenty. The call to take a risk on knowing Him remains. The call to risk your life for knowing the life of Christ is the decision by which we will all be measured.

As Saint Augustine suggested long ago, there exists a void in all of us, a God-ordained void that cannot and will not be filled with anything other than Him. We will find no rest until we find our rest in Him. Building a life God’s way entails a release of all that makes us secure and an embrace of a future lived under the gaze of the One who controls the wind and the waves. What if you took that chance? What would your life look like as you stepped out onto those waters? There’s only one way to find out. Don’t leave that risk untried.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

10. January 2008 by BruceSmith.

Today’s blog comes not from me, but from one of you!  I think all of you will find the message challenging and growth producing.  The story comes from a man who is volunteering his time, still, and rebuilding homes for those affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Its a story of loss, renovation, opportunity, and God’s desires for us.  We can all relate to this one, I think.

Thanks for your ongoing support, prayers, and participation in what God is doing here at Optimus Life.

Grace and Peace amidst the renovations!

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org             READ ON!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Ms. P wants to keep her old stuff because she is comfortable with it, she knows it and she’s afraid she won’t like the new stuff as well as she liked the old stuff. Her windows are in bad shape, they don’t seal well and they are difficult to open and close. Her argument on keeping her doors is that the old ones are wood, and the new metal ones don’t look as nice. She wants to keep them in spite of the fact that they don’t close properly due to the cracking and swelling that took place with them being under water.

  We as a construction team want the best for Miss P, and want to give her a quality job. Our ideas about replacing her windows and doors as well as her bath tubs differ greatly from what she wants us to do. We must gut her 2^nd floor in order to even be able to move forward. We know that replacing her doors, windows and tubs will provide her with the best job and result in a more efficient and comfortable living environment. She holds back from replacing these things because she likes them, is used to them, and knows how they have performed for her in the past. The problem is they will keep her from the better things we have for her and will affect her negatively in the long-term. Her doors will never close and seal properly, her windows will be leaky and cause her energy bills to run higher, and her tubs will stick out like sore thumbs with all of  their stains, chips and the marred finish.

  She is losing what she has been comfortable with and has known as normal for a long time, not to mention the last bastion of life before Katrina. Everything has changed for her and she is trying to cling to what’s left of the past she knew before the storm.

  How many times have we continued to cling to that which we know, in favor of embracing the things that God is calling us to? God may want to “gut “our bad habits, sinful desires, those things in our lives that are detrimental to our Christian walk, and we resist because we know it will be painful to let go of those things, and have the Lord “perform surgery” on our hearts, cutting out the bad to make room for new healthy growth, and in turn, a deeper relationship with Him. Just as we could not move forward with the reconstruction on Miss Pat’s home until we gutted her 2^nd floor, we cannot move forward in our relationship with God until we let him “gut” our hearts to make room for the good things He wants to do in our lives.

  There are other times in our Christian walk where God wants to bless us, but we don’t allow him to because we are afraid to give up the things we “know” for the unknown that he calls us to. Our call to join His work in Louisiana is a perfect example of this. God wants the best for us as a family, and if we would not have been willing to leave the comfort of our lives in Pennsylvania as we knew it, we would have missed out on the blessings that He had for us in New Orleans and His work there.

  Just as we know that trying to keep the old windows and doors on Miss P’s home won’t be beneficial for her in the long run, and will actually have a negative effect on her, our desire to hang on to the old comfortable things in our own lives can rob us of the blessings that God wants to give us.

  Do you sense God calling you to do something that doesn’t feel very comfortable? Is he asking you to follow His call somewhere away from where you are now? Maybe He’s simply calling you to be a friend to someone who doesn’t fit the profile of someone you would choose to befriend on your own. Is he asking you to give up a bad habit you have or a sinful desire that often plagues you?

  My challenge to you is to say YES to Him and allow him to do His work in your heart so that you don’t miss the blessings and the best He has waiting for you! Take that step of faith and see what unfolds. I can assure you it’s never easy, and it may be painful at first, but take the steps to follow God with all you have, and experience the blessings He has waiting for you!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

9. January 2008 by BruceSmith.

One good cup of coffee can change everything

I am a coffee fanatic. For me, a great day consists of a good book, time to write, jazz playing in the background, and a great cup of Starbucks. Life just does not get much better than that. Often, that book I might be reading while sipping on a latte would be a biographical account of someone who has overcome odds in life to accomplish something significant. Howard Schultz is one of those guys. His story is about seeing life beyond present surroundings.

Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, was not always on top of the world. Looking at him now one might be tempted to think his life has always been easy. This mega-rich corporate hero, basketball team owner, and head of a company that has become part of our culture did not always live the good life. In fact, if you read his book, “Pour Your Heart Into It,” you will find out his early days growing up in Brooklyn were full of challenges.

Schultz cut his teeth in a blue-collar home watching his father struggle to make it all work. Taking in all the challenges of his setting as a young person laid the groundwork for his future. Rather than perceiving the struggles as too much to overcome, Howard set his mind to forging a better future. After watching his father labor to put bread on the table and after witnessing the impact of his father’s broken ankle upon the family’s ability to survive, Howard began to set his sights beyond Brooklyn. He would have to chart new waters, as no one in his family had even gone to college, let alone, hit it big.

Eventually, Howard Schultz graduated from college and landed a good job, one that most people at that time would have held onto for life. Far from the Bayview projects he grew up in, Schultz landed a well-paying gig with Xerox, and was given the best sales training available. Just a few years into his well-respected job, however, Howard was growing restless and looking for something that offered a greater challenge.

Then came the opportunity to join on with a housewares company, where Schultz was able to get in on the ground floor. He was sent off to Sweden for some time for training, and absorbed the European culture and zest for life. As he tells it, he was overwhelmed. While working for this company, Schultz was transferred to a division where he was forced to sell products he had no interest in.

Feeling out of place and frustrated, he threatened to quit. The company, realizing they would be losing a vital asset in Schultz, actually moved him back to the housewares division, promoted him to vice-president and upped his pay. He was given responsibility for an entire division of the company, a hefty salary, a company car, an expense account, and unlimited travel, which took him to Sweden a number of times a year.

While working in this capacity, Schultz’s passion to see beyond the present was perked once again. Having oversight of a division that was selling kitchen equipment and housewares, Schultz was intrigued by the reports that showed a small coffee company placing unusually large orders for coffee makers. Motivated to check in on this Seattle-based company, Howard Schultz went up to visit and find out what was happening with this four-store retailer.

As Schultz tells it in his book, he was enamored by the setting in Seattle when he got off the plane, and then hooked on the coffee after his first few sips. More than just good coffee, it was an atmosphere, an experience, a new way of viewing time spent around a cup of java. Wanting to know more about the business and the passion for coffee that was evident, Schultz sat down with the owners to hear the story of how they began with a meager investment of less than $15,000, during a time when opening a coffee shop in Seattle made no sense at all.

Seattle was on its way down after a major recession. The theme of the day was found on billboards that read, “Would the last person leaving Seattle turn the lights out?” All the studies, all the odds, all the current information suggested a coffee company was not the way to go. The founders, however, were passionate about the dream, loved what they were doing, and were willing to look beyond the present surrounding to a hope-filled future.

As time went on and as Howard Schultz got to know the owners better, he only became more intrigued by the whole thing. Along the way, his trips to Europe had won him over to a joy and pursuit of life that the American culture lacked. Eventually, it became his dream to bring a taste of that life to America through, of all things, coffee. Willing to put aside all the success he had attained and the secure life he and his family had, Schultz asked the owners if he could become a part of the company. Friends and family told him he was crazy. Convinced he could play a part in expanding the Starbucks vision, Schultz took a leap forward and asked if he could join the ranks.

After a long dinner meeting, and a night filled with Schultz sharing his vision for an expanded Starbucks, the owners and their backers told him no. Howard was crushed, but still determined to make his way in. He went to the owners again, gave his heart-filled and impassioned hard sell, and eventually convinced them to take him on. As Schultz describes it in his book, “A whole new world had just opened up in front of my eyes, like a scene in The Wizard of Oz when everything changes from black and white to color. This barely imaginable dream was really going to happen.”

It seemed like everything was coming into focus for Howard Schultz and his new dream was unfolding. Just as he and the family were preparing to leave, however, he received a call from his mother telling him that his father was diagnosed with lung cancer and given only a year to live. Now what? he thought. Torn between pursuing his dream and staying with his father in what would be, perhaps, his last days, Schultz had to make a huge decision. After wrestling with the enormity of this soul storm and being encouraged by his father to pursue his new life, Schultz and his family set out for Seattle.

 That challenge, like many others to come, would test Schultz’s resolve and commitment to pursue a better future. There were, of course, many more challenges, obstacles, and pitfalls along the way. As history records it now, however, Howard Schultz’s decision to set off for a bigger dream, his ability to see beyond the present, his bigger view, led to the development of a staggering string of successes. After many more big decisions and some hefty risk-taking, Schultz eventually came to a place of majority ownership interest in Starbucks. The company and its coffee are now engrained in our culture, and the rate of growth and profitability have been the stuff of which dreams are made. There really is nothing like a good cup of coffee!

So what’s the point? Starbucks is an example of what can take place in the soul of an individual, a city, or a nation when a view toward a better future is embraced and pursued with passion. The present surroundings do not have to be the end of the story. What you are experiencing now does not have to determine who you are and what you become. Belief in a better way, the willingness to look beyond the now, and the courage to take risks can produce the life you have always dreamed of.

God has never quit on His dream to call us unto Himself, and He has always specialized in using less-than-perfect surroundings to get us right where He wants us. He desires that we taste and see that He is good, and He is able to make our lives a pleasing aroma before Him. The lives of men like Joseph, Job, David, and many others attest to this reality. 

If you are currently facing enormous odds or if you are at a crossroads in your life recognize God’s ability and desire to make something unique of your time here.  Dare to dream.  Take God-sized risks.  Find the life He is calling you to.  It is more fulfilling than anything else you can imagine.

(from Bruce’s book, Soul Storm: finding God amidst disaster)

 Bruce Smith

Optimuslife.org

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

8. January 2008 by BruceSmith.

 From Bruce Smith’s, Soul Storm: finding God amidst disaster

Hope from the grave

“It’s just too late, too far gone, too complicated, too ugly, and too hopeless.” “There is too much water under the bridge.” “I give up.” Those words and others like them are spoken every day by far too many people caught in the grip of disaster. The death of a dream, a home, a family, a romantic relationship, or a life can be deflating. We have all, no doubt, experienced moments when we have thrown our hands up and in sheer exhaustion said, “I’m done.”

Jesus was and is familiar with this reality, and He is able to meet us in those moments and offer us hope. He does not ignore our tears or command that we pick ourselves up by our own boot straps. Rather, the scriptures tell us that God bottles up all or our tears and feels our pain. He sees, He knows, He is aware of our predicament, and He responds. His response is always on time, and He is always near, even when we think He is far off.

The smell of death lingered in New Orleans long after Katrina picked up her bags and moved on. She came hell-bent on bringing down the city, and in her coming and going left her mark. The scent of rotting and decaying food (some 250,000 refrigerators filled with spoiled food lined the streets for many weeks), animal carcasses, and the smell of decomposing bodies drifted throughout the New Orleans air for months. It is a smell unlike anything one could imagine. Weeks after the storm went through evacuees who had come back to assess damage did so with masks strapped to their faces and gloves on their hands. The stench was too much to handle. Jesus knows something of this deadly stench. He is familiar with the sights, smells, and pain of death. The story of Lazarus shows us just how touched the Lover of our Souls is by the sting of death.

Friends of Jesus, Mary and Martha were troubled by the fatal illness of Lazarus. Knowing of Jesus’ love for Lazarus, the women went to Jesus to inform Him of the illness. Because of Lazarus’ sickness, Jesus hung around Bethany a couple of extra days prior to leaving for another mission. Shortly after leaving, disaster set in and His friend Lazarus died.

Four days after his death, Jesus and the disciples headed back to be with those grieving the loss. Mary and Martha were deeply troubled and in tremendous grief. Being with Jesus days earlier at the side of Lazarus had given them some hope, but now all hope was gone. The sisters had lost their brother, and they could not understand why Jesus had left the three of them alone during this difficult time. Martha went to Jesus and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21)

Jesus’ response to Martha was intended to give hint to the wonder about to be performed, but Martha could not see through the grief. Jesus replied, “Your brother will rise again … I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:23-26) Martha’s reply was something along the lines of, “Yes, Jesus, I know that in heaven, we all live forever.” Theology, however, as we all know, is only comforting to a point.

At times like this, we need a tangible touch from God. This is probably what Martha was thinking at this moment. After this theological exchange, Martha went to find Mary and told her of Jesus’ whereabouts. Mary came to Jesus weeping along with other mourners. The account tells us that as she came to Jesus, she fell at his feet mourning and weeping, saying, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.” Jesus had heard this before. Mary and Martha’s feelings were much like ours in these moments. Seeing Jesus work miracles in the lives of others, and knowing of His ability to change our world with just one word, we often wonder, “Why not me?”

As the account unfolds, we see that Jesus is touched deeply by the pain of His friends and by the loss of Lazarus. He asks them, “Where have you laid him?” Still not getting the hint of the miracle about to overwhelm them, the scriptures suggest that some began to question Jesus’ compassion and ability, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also keep this man from dying?” Jesus would see this kind of doubting as He lay crucified upon the cross accomplishing the greatest victory in the history of the world. Apparently Jesus never concerned Himself with the assumptions of onlookers. Appearing to many always down, He was never defeated.

Jesus, we are told, was deeply moved at this point, and He wept. The one who bottles all of our tears and counts each tear that falls upon our cheeks, Himself weeps with us. He is not too distant as to be touched by our humanity. We often view God as some distant power far removed from our human realities and certainly above and beyond the concerns of our daily lives.

Too often we make the unconscious assumption that we could not possibly approach God with our questions, fears, doubts, and depression. After all, if He exists then He must be perfect, so how could He possibly understand? He is above all of this. He expects me to pull myself together, put on a good face, and move on.

Jesus, however, shows us a different side of God in this encounter. This man, the perfect man, God in the flesh, is clearly moved by and experiences our pain. He owns our pain.

“Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’” Notice the contrast. Mary, Martha and the onlookers feared the stench of death. Jesus, on the other hand, recognizing the reality of the odor and its implications, stares the challenge in the face and rises to the challenge. Upon looking upward to the heavens and saying a few things to God, Jesus turns His gaze to the tomb and with passion and divinely empowered unction, in a loud voice, says simply, “Lazarus, come out.”

In an instant, hope springs eternal from the grave! With grave clothes still encumbering him, Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, brother of the grieving women, came forth from the stench and darkness of death into the glorious brilliance of new life and in the light of a new day. Jesus, totally poised, yet perhaps still with tears rolling down His face, looks in the direction of astonished onlookers and directs them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” For anyone within earshot of this wonderful disaster, life would never be the same again!

Karl Barth, in a very important work entitled The Humanity of God points to the ecstatic reality that God, in all of his divinity and “otherness,” is also near. Barth instructs us that God is not remote, far removed from our pain, confusion, and destruction. Jesus demonstrates this reality in His interaction with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Amidst our desolation, pain, and exhaustion, God’s hand is extended through the clouds, reaching us, and bottling our tears. God is for us, He has not left us all alone. Barth writes,

 God’s deity is thus no prison in which He can exist only in and for Himself. It is rather His freedom to be in and for Himself but also with and for us, to assert but also to sacrifice Himself, to be wholly exalted but also completely humble, not only almighty but also almighty mercy, not only Lord but also servant, not only judge but also Himself the judged, not only man’s eternal king but also his brother in time. And all that without in the slightest forfeiting His deity! All that, rather, in the highest proof and proclamation of His deity! He who does and manifestly can do all that, He and no other is the living God.” (p. 49)

No matter how low we have found ourselves, no matter how bad it looks, no matter how dead, no matter how bad the stench, God is able. He is able to bring hope from the grave and He is able to rebuild the soul of any man, woman, boy, girl, city, hamlet, county, state, or nation. He is still near, and He longs to say those words again, “Unbind them.” In one word, He can turn death upside down. In one word, He can turn our lives right side up. In one word, He can change things. As the great hymn tells us, He is our hope and our help. Martin Luther penned the powerful and profound words long ago, yet they are still sound today. He is, “Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!”

 Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

4. January 2008 by BruceSmith.

Last night was an historic evening. Kansas’ football team one its first bowl game! More important, however, was what took place in Iowa at the Caucuses. But just what did take place? What really went on in Iowa last night?

I am no expert political commentator by any stretch, but I am one who appreciates our American story, and I am deeply concerned with who we are and where we are headed as a country. It is said, often, that people ought to stay away from two subjects as much as possible; religion and politics. I, as you know, am not one who commonly gives in to such admonitions. And so, today, I offer my socio-politico-religious musing on just what took place last night on a truly historic evening.

As you are now aware, two men took the spotlight as they captured the win in Iowa. One, a black man, competing in a state that is 95% white, won in dramatic fashion. The other, a financial underdog who was out spent many times over, captured the day ahead of formidable odds. Obama and Huckabee.  Obama, a relative upstart in the political forum by comparison to his opponents, demonstrated the power of the message of hope, optimism, change, and a new future.  Huckabee, a former Governor and baptist minister, demonstrated the power of authenticity, a clear reasoned voice, and the allure of principled leadership over political polish.  Both men, amidst the fray of American politics, captured the imagination of onlookers as they spoke to the head, the heart, and our hopes for our true American identity.

What is significant about the win, in my opinion, is the larger picture, of which the rhetoric of both Obama and Huckabee is but a small part.  The crucial element and value of each man’s message which is so critical is the call to a view of America which finds its basis where it began.  The American story, founded upon Judeo Christian values, finds its life, axis, hope and future upon the ideals framed in our constitution by its founders.  Obama, if nothing else, is a testimony to the American ideal of freedom for all, opportunity for all, and the equality of all regardless of skin type.  If nothing more comes of his push for the White House, then we should all, as Americans, give thanks that we have come to a place where a black man can take his place (by virtue of his mind, work, ethic, and presence) in the ring of political competition and not be penalized due to his skin color.  If all else fails, Obama’s rise is a call for racial fighting to end, and a reminder that our ideals are moving forward.  Both sides of the race issue must recognize this reality and move forward with a better approach for the future, one that ends the derisiveness that has characterized us too often.  Those that champion Obama’s rise ought to be championing the bigger ideals and the quest for a better future, and not a skin type.  Those that do not agree with Obama’s politics ought to make another choice, again, not based on skin type, but upon the desire to support their idea of what will lead toward a better American future.

Huckabee’s emergence is surprising and refreshing on a number of levels.  First, his win demonstrates the power of a clear message and the compelling draw of principle.  His victory gives us hope in America that civil discourse and authenticity can win the day over the political machine, money, and political character assassination.  Moreover, with his faith not hidden, Huckabee’s emergence also demonstrates that Americans do not fear a faith based leader who is authentic and intelligent.  Huckabee offers Americans a glimpse of what appears to be an genuine desire to lead for the good of a country rather than for the lust of an ego.  If nothing more comes of his Iowa win, we have gotten a taste of hope that comes from a civil, engaging, intelligent, and reasoned approach.  And, perhaps, we have been reminded, time will tell, that faith based leadership is not something to fear, but rather, something we should aspire to.  Upon principle, upon truth, we make our way forward.  Anything short of that is merely rhetoric.

There are many intelligent, well-intended, and viable men and women on the political scene in our country today, and this brief commentary is by no means a call to vote for either of the candidates mentioned here.  Rather, the commentary is intended to remind us of what it is that we all most need and aspire to as Americans.  If Obama and Huckabee were to fall apart tomorrow, the message of the historic wins in Iowa remain.  We, as Americans, will always need, and hopefully desire, a country where truth, freedom, equality, intelligence, hope, and opportunity lead the way.  These are our ideals, and this is what we saw come alive last night in the wins and in the speeches of Obama and Huckabee.  Let’s hope and pray, regardless of who may lead the charge, that these ideals are what will characterize our coming leaders.  Let’s pray that these ideals continue to be the core values of our country, as set in place by our founders.

Be attentive this year to the issues we face as Americans.  Engage in the process.  Understand the issues.  Lead the way daily.

Grace and Peace,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

3. January 2008 by BruceSmith.

Readers, bloggers, supporters,

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. We at Optimuslife.org hope and pray you and yours are off to an inspiring start in ‘08. Our crew has had a good holiday though I have been down for several days with acute bronchitis and laryngitis. I think I am over the hump now and moving on to recovery. I appreciate your prayers and thoughts.

My God bless us, keep us, and make His face to shine upon us in the coming year amidst all of our dreaming, goals, struggles, successes, and failures. My we sense His presence in the highlights, special moments, thrills, and in the ordinary.

Remember, you never lock eyes with another human being who does not matter to Him.

As a matter of prayer, Optimus Life is in great need for a financial boost here at the beginning of the year.  In order for us to accomplish the goals we have previously listed for the year, we desperately need your help.  Please, prayerfully consider a generous financial gift here at the beginning of 2008.  You can send your support to:

optimus life

4 whippoorwill

covington la 70433

Grace and Peace in the Year ahead.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »