Author: Peter Mis

Alcohol, Red Meat, and the Clarity of Purpose

Alcohol, cookies, and red meat.

And we can’t forget about the swearing.

At various points in my life I’ve given each of them up for the 40 days of Lent. I was brought up believing Lent was about giving up stuff I liked to make the God I was taught to fear happy. Eventually I saw into the significance of what spiritual discipline was all about, but I never saw the correlation between my diet and vocabulary and my spiritual salvation. But that’s just me.

As a spiritual meanderer, I’ve often struggled with some of life’s bigger questions. None bigger than trying to figure out what God wants me to do Continue reading “Alcohol, Red Meat, and the Clarity of Purpose” →

What Happened To What’s Possible?

What Happened To What’s Possible?

My seven year old daughter announced this week she is writing a book! It’s a story of a princess and her shadow. She’s also said something about aliens as well. So far we’ve seen two pages and have no idea of how many more we should be expecting.

Why is she writing a book? Because she wants to. And because no one told her she couldn’t.

Especially herself.

Once again the actions of an innocent child remind me of a lesson I somehow keep needing to learn. Once again, I am reminded about limitations, primarily the ones we consciously and unconsciously establish for ourselves.

My daughter’s book is another example of her willingness to simply express what is inside her. Her decision to create isn’t contingent upon any results she needs to see from this project. Actually, there are no contingencies at all. No parameters, no metrics. Just a desire Continue reading “What Happened To What’s Possible?” →

Lessons Learned from the $1,011.05 Cup of Coffee

Lessons Learned from the $1,011.05 Cup of Coffee

“Large iced coffee, decaf, black, extra ice please.”

“That will be $1,011.05. Please drive up.”

The morning drive-thru dialog between me and the faceless through-the-speaker voice of the server at Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s the morning ritual, the accidental habit with a $2.77 cost per day. Fiscally insignificant on a daily basis. But when you repeat a fiscally insignificant transaction 365 days a year the dollars do add up.

$1,011.05 in this case.

This isn’t a post about frugality. It’s about becoming aware of how significant the seemingly insignificant actually is. And with our awareness comes our opportunity to make subtle, relatively Continue reading “Lessons Learned from the $1,011.05 Cup of Coffee” →

Giving Thanks For The Things That Piss Me Off

Thank you, you idiot driver, for driving too slow in the high-speed lane and making me late. Thank you, you inconsiderate grocery shopper, for dumping 20 items on the conveyor belt of the 12-items-or-less express register aisle.

Thank you. For pissing me off.

I’ve come to appreciate such moments, the moments when I am in emotional overdrive with everyone and everything getting under my skin. Why? Because I’ve learned my reaction to the world in front of me says so much about the world inside of me. When my responses are laced with rage and anger and my thoughts and words become confrontational and judgmental, it tells me that real problem here is more about me than with the ones who have managed to push my buttons.

I tell my kids life usually never goes as planned and when it doesn’t what you do next is the important thing. Sometimes I need to take my own advice. Life so often is a test, those moments when life Continue reading “Giving Thanks For The Things That Piss Me Off” →

The Inheritance of Expectations

So, what are you doing with your inheritance?

When we think of inheritance we tend to think of it in financial terms, money or property passed down from one generation to the next. Some of us may receive such a windfall, and others may never see a dime. All of us, though, will inherit something far greater than money, something which will more greatly impact the direction of our life.

Expectations.

Life tends to give us what we expect to get from it and our expectations usually never let us down. No one has a crystal ball, but our expectations Continue reading “The Inheritance of Expectations” →

What Side Of The White Line Are You Standing On?

It makes all the difference in the world.

Today was Opening Day for the local youth soccer league. Proudly, I watched as my six-year-old daughter and her team took to the field. No one was keeping score, and it looked like no one knew exactly what they were doing, either. But it didn’t matter. They came to play, and that’s exactly what they did.

Kids at play always have lessons we adults always need to be reminded of. Today, for me the lesson was a reminder about showing up, stepping over the white line and entering the arena. Even if we haven’t yet gotten everything all figured out.

We all have hopes and dreams within us, many which will never be given the chance to come true, simply because we are standing on the wrong side of the white line, the white line which separates the players from the spectators. Our hopes and dreams require us to cross over the line; our dreams will never be realized simply watching others acheive theirs.

Your life is God’s dream come true, and God’s greatest hope is the dreams He’s placed within you are fully realized and shared with the world.

So, what side of the white line are you standing on?

It’s a great day to be you!

There Are No Little Things

I’ve been told it’s the little things that matter most in life.

May I disagree?

In life there are no little things. And there are no big things, either.

Life is simply a collection of moments, and within these precious moments lies the very essence of life itself. When we give up our tendency to quantify the significance of particular moments, we are finally free to appreciate the magnificence of every moment.

Ours is a life of abundant blessings, perhaps some yet undiscovered, but fully alive in the moments which make up the only life we’ll ever know.

All we need to do is see them for what they really are.

It’s a great day to be you!

The Parable of Jesus, the Hockey Game, and the Ice Cold Beer

Peter was watching a hockey game with Jesus. When there was a break in the action, Peter turned to Jesus and asked him to get him a beer from the fridge. Jesus rose from the sofa and headed to kitchen. On his way he stopped, turned to look at Peter, shook His head slowly from side to side, then proceeded into the kitchen. Shortly after, Jesus returned to the sofa, empty handed, sat down and began to watch the hockey game.

Perplexed, Peter turned to Jesus and said “where’s my beer?”, to which Jesus said “Son, I am always here for you, but sometimes life is really Continue reading “The Parable of Jesus, the Hockey Game, and the Ice Cold Beer” →

It Doesn’t Matter What Happened, What Matters Is What Happens Next

It’s late. There’s a knock on the door. As you open the door you see a man smiling with what looks to be a pie in his hand. As you’re about to ask what this is all about, he raises his hand and plants the pie right in your face.

Usually you never see the pie in the face coming.

Life is full of pie-in-the-face moments, moments when the unforseen shows up and screws up everything. The best laid plans simply no match for Continue reading “It Doesn’t Matter What Happened, What Matters Is What Happens Next” →

Be Your Own Sunshine

Be Your Own Sunshine

Are you waiting for the world to make you happy, waiting for the warmth of the sun to make you smile?

We’re all hoping for sunshine, but in the end the weatherman, no matter how experienced and informed, is basing his forecast on something he really has no control over.

Sort of how we hope for happiness.

So much of the happiness we seek is far too dependent upon forces we do not control. We empower things external to placate the internal. We Continue reading “Be Your Own Sunshine” →