kennethbaucum

"Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started."

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." -- Hebrews 12:1-2

According to John Lennon, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."  I agree.

Life seems to be happening to me quite a bit lately, in one way or another.  Do you know what I mean?  I'm sure you do, given the variables in the business market, jobs, education, work, your home, car and family.  I suppose I've been quite fortunate in many of these areas, but others have not been so lucky.  I serve a mighty God who takes care of me daily.  He takes care of the sparrows -- how much more is my human soul worth than they?  He is willing that all should come to Him for guidance in their daily lives.

Do you ever wonder why progress is sometimes so hard to acheive?  Oh the wealth of knowledge one must pour through in order to find a simple equation to balance the workplace and home, school and church, family and friends, time and money and to simply keep the world put together.  Throw in your own passions and dreams and you will shortly find for yourself a conundrum of thoughts and ideas that conflict with and resist each other, each one vying for its chance to be in the limelight of your 'center of attention'.  I won't claim to have all the answers, but I'm pretty sure there's one part of the equation that remains constant:

( Me + God ) = "It'll be OK"

I'm looking for your feedback:  What plans have you made in the last month or so -- and what has life actually allowed to happen?  Then comes the final question, "What are you going to do about it?"

I don't get on Facebook to play farmville.  In fact, I don't think farmville should even get a capital f in its name.

I thought I got on Facebook so I could peer into the details of a friend's life and be able to help them along life's journey.  It seems however, that some are returning the favor and asking questions I would have other wise never expected.  These people are my true friends.

Facebook has nearly destroyed the meaning of friends in its race to make its users more popular with more people.  In fact, it has diluted our sense of true friendship so much that I have been screening my friend requests more and more each day.  I don't befriend anyone on Facebook that isn't (or wasn't) a friend in real life.  I think that's fair.

The view from where I'm standing is somewhat foggy, for my friends who have asked.  I'm transitioning and I don't really know what tomorrow holds.  I'm working hard to come up with a mission for myself, and I'm realizing that there's nothing new to my mission, I just need to assign it some words.

Kenneth Baucum is building the bridge between people and technology.

The way I see it, there's several meanings, all of which can be construed as correct.  First, I'm building a bridge between people and technology.  I'm finding ways to use technology to make life easier in practical and tangible ways.  Second, I'm building bridges between people.  I enjoy leveraging real relationships and real life applications to help guide and inspire others on their quest for personal excellence.  Finally, I'm bringing technology together.  Technology is a tool that I am using and molding to make life easier.  Technology is part of my life, liberty and my pursuit of happiness.

My pursuit of happiness includes more things than can be listed in a reasonable space, so I'll stick with these three things:  I pursue God, I serve others and I enjoy being myself.  I hope you can find for yourself a mission and passion to get involved in.  Find a passion and get fully engaged in it.

Without vision (passion/inspiration/motivation/education/mission), the people perish.

I'm ready to run.  Run with an idea, run with a friend, or just simply run.  The time for action is now.  Where do I fit?  What's my role?  Who do I support?  Who supports me?

The race has begun, I left the starting line, and jogged around the first turn, but that's not the end.  It's only the beginning.  There are others ahead of me who know where the goal lies and are sprinting ahead to reach it.  Behind me, others are finding their feet, standing, and beginning to walk -- some may even be considering the possibility of jogging now.

Shall I stay behind to lead those who choose to follow?  Should I instead sprint ahead and follow a group who knows where they're going?  Or, is there a place somewhere in between, where I can follow a pack of great leaders, and be able to convince some lonely bystanders to join the race and run with me to the end?

For now, I'll simply run. Where's my water bottle and shoes?

This is part of my life, I like to call it -- searching.

So, Alexander Bell was quoted as saying, "When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."  Thanks, Al.  I have this door, which shall remain nameless in this public forum, which has been closed.  At least, it seems closed, I could check the lock.  It's now time for me to refocus on the bigger picture and start searching for new doors, preferably open ones, and walk through one.

On the subject of doors, should you be the one whose hand is on a door knob deciding if it should be open or closed, please look first and ensure no one is standing in the doorway before closing it.  Also, slamming the door is not nice.  If you ever have to close the door on someone, no matter how large or small, please close it gently.

And now, for my inspirational quote to wrap this thing up -- "But he giveth more grace."  James 4:6  I'm so glad I know the one who is in control.

Oh, and just as a heads-up, next on the reading list is Terry Esau's followup to "Surprise Me", titled "Be the Surprise."  Be on the lookout for some commentary and real-life applications coming soon.  Pray for rain!