Sports: College and Pro footbal
Writing: Working with words to paint a picture
Playing board games and enjoying quiet nights after stressful days
Working with nature: Creating a relaxing backyard to enjoy
Traveling: Have visited 46 states and 8 countries
About me: Hi, I'm Ben, a married father of two married children with three granddaughters. I'm an educator, pianist, minister, chaplain and author.
I'm the founding president of the Perry County, Indiana chapter of Habitat for Humanity. I traveled with youth around the country building homes in Florida, New York, Ohio and Indiana for Habitat for Humanity. We have also helped to rebuild communities and to assist the victims of natural disasters, particularly in Central America and most recently Hurricane Katrina, attempting to piece together their shattered lives.
I am a grief and loss specialist. I listen to the heart songs of hurting people who have endured pain and loss, helping the grieving to discover where the rainbows of hope might be found in their lives. I want people to find healthy ways to open up their dark clouds and to overcome the fear of talking about the feelings of anger, sadness and loneliness that encompass pain and what the possibilities are for healing.
A few pages of my books, "Incredibly Lonely, That's Me" and "From Here To There," part of the Express Yourself Series from Eagle Creek Publications. Find out more about these and other books at www.eaglecreekpubs.com
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Who I'd like to meet: The United States Chaplain, Daniel Coughlin
I am sorry for the long absence. I have been dealing with some technical issues with this new computer that I bought a couple months back. I hope that they are now all resolved. ______________________________________________________
I draw inspiration for my weekly thoughts form may different things. This inspiration happened to come from a TV show.
“So live your life. Live every day and know that the future is unwritten. Make the most of it.”
At first I found it difficult to find a photo that would depict this quote then with a little nudge from a friend I found the perfect photo that depicts me the photographer making the most of the photographic opportunities that I am given, and the subjects of the photo doing what they enjoy. I hope that you agree that I picked the perfect photo.
I hope that you all had a great thanksgiving, and I hope that you have a great week to come.
Many have heard the saying “No man is an island”, but some have a hard time grasping the concept that it teaches.
What does it mean?
I think that it is meant for the overly independent among us. It reminds us that we are social creatures. It reminds us that we need the help and support of others, and that we need to be there to help and support the people around us when they need it.
I hope that you have a great week. Please don’t be an island.
These pictures were taken on a cloud day right after a rain storm. Even on the dreariest of days, I find some beauty to photograph.
We also need to find some beauty in every day of our lives. We may be going through some tough times, but as long as we are able to find the flower in the midst of the rainstorm, we know that we can get through any situation.
Most of us are capable of flying to great heights in our lives. But, like this bird, we do not fly very far off the ground. Why do some of us not fly high into the sky and reach our full potential?
I know that the biggest reason that I do not fly high is FEAR! FEAR OF MAKING MISTAKES, FEAR OF NOT BEING GOOD ENOUGH, FEAR OF NOT BEING WORTHY, AND FEAR OF FAILING.
Fear is limiting, and crippling and it hold you back from reaching your goals. When you feel fear that you know is holding you back from accomplishing your goals there is only one thing you need to do.
Stand against the fear and shout in you mind: “I AM NOT AFRAID!” If you do this often enough, one day you will be bigger than your fear and it will no longer be your master.
Many of you are probably wondering where my thought and photo postings have been. My 5 year old computer that I use to post my photos finally needed replacing. It took a while to load all my software and get back to an operational status. Here is the thought and photo that I planned to post before my unfortunate hardware failure. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometimes we decide to stray off the path that has been set before us. Most of the time we realize that leaving the path was a bad decision. Eventually we get so deep into the “woods” that it’s hard to find the path again.
There is hope however! We all come with a built in “compass”. If we close our eyes and just listen to this “compass”, the direction that we need to go to get back on our path will be made clear.
I hope that you have a great weekend and a great week to come.
Be sure to visit my website at http://www.geekingoutnow.com/ for more great thoughts and photos, and other interesting content.
Our Lives are usually as stressful and chaotic as we allow them to be. Sometimes we get stuck in a rut and just do things a certain way. We never realize that there may be a better and less stressful way of doing things.
Sometimes just doing something relaxing will allow us to clear our head. That way, when we enter the stressful situation again; we may be more open to a better way of handling things.
I hope that you have a great weekend, and a great week to come.
Be sure to visit my new website at http://www.geekingoutnow.com/ for more great thoughts and photos, and other interesting content.
Fishing And Relaxing Steven’s Creek Reservoir Cupertino CA
All too often we stretch ourselves too thin. Some of us, like me, tend to have way too many things going on in our lives at any one time. If we try to concentrate our efforts on too many different things at once the result could be disastrous.
Confucius once said “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape”.
I hope that you have a great weekend. I also hope that in the coming week that you do not end up “chasing too many rabbits”.
As we age we often forget that life is supposed to be fun. When we are young, fun is what we are about. This is somehow lost in the time of our lives.
If we find something that connects us with this lost youthful exuberance, we should keep doing it even if someone tells us otherwise. It is this connection with our youth that I believe will get us though some of the toughest times of our lives.
I hope that you have a great weekend, and a great week to come.
An old saying says “You can not dig yourself out of a hole”. You may not be able to dig yourself out of a hole, but given the right motivation you can propel yourself out like a rocket and reach new heights never before thought possible.
I hope that you have a great weekend and a great week to come.
Sometimes we try to make a change but we don't really feel like we are doing anything different. We sometimes feel as though what we are doing really doesn't even matter to anyone.
I can tell you something! What you are doing matters!! You matter!! I know that sometimes change is hard, but if you stay on the right path, it will take you to some really wonderful places.
We are all searching for a peace and tranquility in our lives. Peace means different things to different people. It could mean lying in the sun by the pool, or hiking though the woods, or it could mean finding that beautiful place and being there when no one else is around.
The peace and tranquility that we seek is not really found in any special place at any special time. It is just a state of mind that we put ourselves in when we find such place and such times.
That said, don’t you think that we could also find peace and tranquility in other places and other times? I think that it is possible, and it just takes a little brain power on our part, but it can be done.
I hope that you have a great weekend, and a very peaceful, tranquil week.
Sometimes in life it seems as though we are caught in an unending loop. We try to make positive changes in our lives, but we end up right back where we started.
I am speaking from personal experience here. I can tell you that positive change is possible, and that you can break out of those seemingly unending loops. Just keep trying, and eventually when the timing is right, you will make that change that you desire.
I hope that you have a great weekend, and a great loop-free week.
I was reading something recently and it reminded me of something that happened to me in my childhood. When I was growing up I had a big maple tree in my back yard. That tree was where I had a swing, and it was also my favorite tree to climb in.
Now one of the first times that I climbed in this tree I made the mistake of climbing really high in the tree, hanging from one of the limbs, and then looking down. BIG MISTAKE!! I was frozen with fear. I gripped the tree limb so tight that my knuckles turned white. My best friend saw me hanging there and he told me “let go, and you’ll be all right”. I hung on even tighter. Then finally I grew so tired that the only thing that I could do was let go. Of course, the height was not as much as I thought. I picked myself up off the ground, brushed myself off, and I was fine.
This story illustrates what happens in our lives. We try to do things our way and get into trouble. Then, when we have to face the fear of our situation we hold on with a white-knuckle grip. We must understand that we have to sometimes just “let go”, and we will be OK.
I hope that you have a great weekend and a great week.
One day I was talking with a friend of mine, and she asked me a very simple question; “What are you plans for the coming week?” I proceeded to name off all of the things that I had to accomplish, all of the things that I hoped to accomplish, and all of the things that I probably would not have the time to accomplish. Her only response to my rather lengthy to do list was “Don’t you ever take the time to do anything that you actually enjoy doing?”
She was so right! Most of us do not set aside time in our week to do things that we truly enjoy. It is a sad but true fact.
My friend knows me very well, and she reminded me that I really enjoy my photography, and I also enjoy field archery, but I have not taken the time to actually enjoy these things lately. Well, now that it has been pointed out to me, I think that it is high time to make a change. Now I will resolve to set some time out of my busy schedule to actually do something that I enjoy doing, and I challenge you to do the same.
I hope that you have a great weekend, and a great week to come. It’s time to get out and find something to truly enjoy.
I have been thinking a lot about the concept of change recently. I have been meeting with a group of friends once a week and we have been discussing how to best make some positives changes in our lives.
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus may not have been the first person to ponder the concept of change, but he gave us a nugget of truth in 474 BC that has lived on to this day. He said “The only constant is change”.
Things are always changing with us, in us, and around us. Just in recent history the entire human race has undergone many changes. We have been able to devise machines to help us achieve our goals. What happens to these machines when our goals change? They become relics of a bygone era.
The same thing can happen to us if we get in a rut and are unwilling to change. We ourselves can become relics. Don’t let this happen to you. Remain flexible and keep setting your sites on your goals.
I saw this car and I just had to grab a camera and take a few photos. I know that the car was meant to be a joke, but it still reminded me of how we sometimes get too wound up in our lives. We sometimes let our lives get to the point where it seems like we are no longer in control. We get wound up by the stress of work, family, or friends and that stress drives us in a direction that we do not want to go.
When this happens, we have to put ourselves back in the driver’s seat of our lives and stop letting others choose the direction that we will go.
I hope that in the coming week that you will be going in a direction of your choosing.
There is a question that I have been thinking about a lot this week. What is confidence? As we go through the challenges of our lives our confidence is put to the test. Sometimes we have to do things that are outside our comfort zone. Some people mistake confidence for arrogance. Whatever label you put on it, I think that a little confidence is a good thing to have. This week I am sharing some special photos with you. I am entering the enclosed photos in an art show, and I am confident that I will win at least one award.
I hope that you have a great week full of the confidence that you need to deal with whatever situations you face.
May people often get very wrapped up in there likes and dislikes. Take crowds for example. Some people really detest crowds, and there are those who even fear large groups of people. It is interesting though when you think about it that we humans are not the only species on the planet to have to deal with this problem. If you will look around you, there are many examples of “animal crowds”. That would seem to me to prove that crowds are just a part of the natural order of things.
I hope that each and every member of the “crowd” of people that I send this out to has a great week.
This week, I would like to try something a little different. I am in the process of trying to choose some photographs for upcoming art show. I would like all of you to help me in choosing the photo for the non-color photography category. Here are two of my possibilities. Send me a message, and cast your vote for your favorite one.
Sometimes in life, we find ourselves “driving in the fog”. We usually don’t know how we got into the fog in the first place. Most of the time, we also can not see a way out. So we drive along aimlessly hoping that it will eventually clear.
Then something happens in our life. We come across a “light” in the middle of the fog, and we follow this light until we can come out of the fog bank. When we come out the light of the sun seems brighter somehow and the day seems clearer then we ever thought possible.
If you are in a fog, I hope that you soon find that light that will lead you out into a beautiful sunny day. I hope that you have a great weekend and awesome week ahead.
As we are now well into a new month, I am wondering how many New Year’s Resolutions have already fallen by the wayside. I know that I have not been able to keep up with some of my resolutions.
We do not need to be hard on ourselves about this, but we too often are.
Sometimes we have to realize that not reaching our goals is just a fact of life.
Sometimes despite our best intentions, we do not do the things that we know to be right.
Sometimes we even chose to do the wrong things even though it is contrary to our goals.
Eventually we do the right things and get back on the right path.
I hope that you are on the way to getting back on the path that is right for you, and I hope that you have a great week.
I think that we are all born with certain innate skills and abilities. As we go through life we learn to hone these “tools” and we learn how we can use them.
Some people however choose not to use the tools that they have been given. Some even discard the tools that they have and go searching for tools that they would like to have.
I think that it is not up to us to try and choose the tools that we would like to have. Instead we should use the tools that we have been given to do what we were meant to do with our lives.
If you look closely at the enclosed photos you will see that the sculptures are made up of discarded tools.
Do not let your tools become part of such a sculpture.
I hope that you are putting your tools to good use and I hope that you have a great weekend.
