Eric Suddoth's Blog, page 27

We All Make Mistakes

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So Saturday morning I woke up and noticed my hair was getting a little long around the ears. I grabbed my trimmers and started cutting.

Mistake #1 – always watch yourself

So I leaned my head over the toilet and started cutting so the hair would fall in for easy cleanup.

So often we start living our lives without any thought of how it looks. We have grown accustomed to the philosophy that if it makes you happy, then it is okay. We create our own rules because we feel we are wiser and know better than prior generations.

But we aren’t.

We make the same mistakes over and over. We sadly never learn from the mistakes of previous generations. The saying is true, history is destined to repeat itself.

But we can stop the cycle if we watch. If we look where we are going. Too many times people fall in pits and wonder why they have fallen, forgetting all the warning signs that were along the path. Murderers don’t wake up to be murderers in one day. Drug addicts don’t overdose on their first day.

Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, our downfalls usually don’t happen in a day as well. Avalanches happen once, but it is days or years of ice cracking and shifting that caused the destruction. We never see the process before – we only notice the devastation afterwards.

But even after we make mistakes, we usually have a second chance.

Another chance to get clean. Another chance to remove the hatred. Another chance to start again tomorrow.

It’s like life has constant reboots.

So often we think of reboots on January 1, but a reboot can happen any day of the year. It can happen tomorrow. It can happen next week. It can happen now.

So if you have made a mistake, take heart.

Take strength.

Take grace.

And then start again.

If you’re still breathing, then you’re still living. If you’re still living then you can reboot.

Mistakes shouldn’t define you.

Your resolve to redefine yourself should.

So, if you made a mistake, take heart. It’s not over yet.

You can make a change. You can improve. You can mend.

And if you’re lucky, your hair can grow back. So don’t worry.

Peace

The Backhanded Posts

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This has been an interesting week. I think we all can agree even if you are not involved in politics, you know what has happened.

It’s just interesting. That I was seeing on friends posts for the country to unify on Tuesday night…Wednesday…Thursday…Friday. To come together. That if your candidate wins to not gloat. To pray for the winning candidate no matter how you voted.

Most of posts seemed friendly and good sportsmanlike.

Then a winner was projected.

There are still those posts seeking for unification, but it’s interesting that some people who posted about not gloating…are now gloating.

The people who posted about not complaining about the winner are now complaining.

The people who posted about supporting whatever winner, is waiting for a recount.

The people who scorned the last winner with vile posts are saying to be kind and loving for the next 4 years.

The people who prayed for God’s will to be done are now praying for God to intervene.

The people who prayed for God’s will to be done are now praising God for His faithfulness.

It’s just funny, like a backhanded compliment. It looks nice at first, but then stings when the truth shines through.

I think we all have seen these posts. And I scratch my head wondering what happened in this world for people to wear their hearts and thoughts on the sleeve of Facebook or Twitter?

We can quote lines on loving one another and living in harmony, as long as you get to choose the melody to harmonize too.

I know these posts will eventually fade. Next week a new scandal or disaster will take the limelight for all of society to judge and post with perfect vision of seeing all the facts.

Or maybe not.

But I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful that adults can be adults, but sadly I have learned that an increasing number doesn’t equate to added maturity.

People will die at 90 with the same maturity level as they had at 12 years old.

Unless you try to better yourself, you never will.

If you don’t see your blind spots, you never will.

If I hit a nerve…maybe it’s time to change?

Or you can just badmouth me like a mature adult.

Peace

Evolution – Have You Questioned the Common Ancestor

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I have always been interested between the relationship of faith and science. Many people in the science spectrum look down on people on the faith spectrum and vice versa. But I believe the more you question your belief the stronger your belief will be. If you always assume you are right, I’m pretty sure you are wrong about something.

We all have blind spots. Even me.

So let’s question evolution. I don’t have a lot of answers that I have found that sits well with me, but if we ask questions we can try to find the answer. If you never question, you will never try to find anything.

One common misperception is that humans evolved from monkeys or apes.

Humans and monkeys are both primates. But humans are not descended from monkeys or any other primate living today. We do share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees. It lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. But humans and chimpanzees evolved differently from that same ancestor. All apes and monkeys share a more distant relative, which lived about 25 million years ago. – Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

My question, so if we didn’t come from monkeys but an ancestor of a monkey, why the split? Why are there monkeys and humans? For example, with this reasoning a woman had two children, one was a monkey and one was a human. How is that possible? If a human mates with a human, you get a human. You will not get a more advanced human or a totally different species. If that happened back then (science says millions of years ago) why hasn’t there been any documentation of a woman having a new species in the last 6,000 years?

This statement from the Smithsonian doesn’t make sense. It seemed that they couldn’t explain it so the only thing plausible was evolution.

In science, gaps in knowledge are the driving force behind the ongoing study of the natural world and how it arose. The science of human origins is a vibrant field in which new discoveries continually add to our understanding of how we became human. You can learn about some of the most recent findings in this exhibit. – Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Gaps in knowledge…so the Smithsonian states there are gaps.

Some gaps are reasonable. 1, 2, 3, ?, 5, 6. We all can agree that the gap is 4. Based upon mathematics we know this gap because we have seen the numbering’s in various scenarios.

But the gap for evolution is a gap no one has ever seen, so assuming to explain this gap as a different species birthed a new species seems very Sci-Fi or Marvel comic bookish.

Science points to human skulls during this period as proof of evolution. They show skulls that have changed or evolved. But what if the not fully developed skulls they are looking at actually had a skull deformity.

If you do a search for skull deformities, you will see skulls that look like prehuman skulls.

How can they know that it was evolution and not a deformity?

Babies are born with their skull not properly fused, but they tend to fuse together normally. But even today, not all skulls form normally. Surgeries are needed, medical procedures and braces are used, vitamins and medicine are taken.

If some skulls today can look like the prehistoric skulls that scientists are looking at, have they considered deformities?

Once again, I do not have answers, only questions.

May we continue to question. Science is good, but science is also so big that we haven’t discovered everything yet. What if we haven’t discovered that evolution is a theory, but not totally factual? May we continue to seek.

Just a thought.

Peace

Vote For You

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Well, the election is over, but the world is still waiting for the results. Whoever wins, Republican or Democrat, it’s interesting really…we place more faith in electing the president than we place in ourselves.

People are praying and biting their nails in eager expectation, hoping for their candidate to win. But when have they did this for themselves?

When’s the last time you voted for yourself?

I don’t mean in an election, but I mean symbolically. When is the last time you chose yourself to make a change, to make a difference, to become the better version of yourself?

I think sometimes we put too much emphasis in matters that may not even impact us, and then ignore the things that are important to us.

Once again, I don’t mean politically, but personally. When is the last time you reached for the stars you have dreamed about for years? When’s the last time you even dreamed about a star to reach for?

Life happens. Stars fade. Dreams fizzle.

But you can vote on yourself tomorrow.

So however the cards fall, don’t let the election results rule your life. Rule your own life.

Peace

Everyone Needs a Break

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Well, I’m on vacation this week. I usually explore new places and take in some interesting sites (a year ago I was in the Alps in Switzerland as Facebook sadly reminded me today).

But this year I am taking a break.

No traveling for me this year.

So, this year I am staying homebound in the safety of my four walls. I will be binging on some shows, reading a book, decluttering my closet, and of course, writing my latest book.

We all need moments where we can relax and reflect. Refuel and recalculate. Reevaluate and reconsider. This week will be that week for me.

I am a dreamer. I like to dive into areas that may seem impossible and as Emily Dickinson wrote, dwell in possibility.

What area of your life seems impossible? Have you tiptoed into that foreign land and sat there on the dirt floor like sitting in the middle of a grand forest. Have you listened to the crickets chirp for you to “Try, try, try.”

Have you sunk deep into the abyss and felt the feeling of drowning, only to rise up to the surface gasping for air?

You never know your own limits until you reach them. And usually, when we reach that proverbial boundary line we realize it wasn’t aloof after all.

So, have any of us ever actually reached our limit? I don’t think we have.

Once we think we have, we have only underestimated ourself.

Don’t underestimate yourself.

This may be a week of staycation, but it is still going to be a week of work.

Lazy people never reach their dreams…lazy people usually don’t dream in the first place.

Go on and dream.

Peace

New Release – Solomon’s Dreams: Preying for Revenge

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When I came up with the story idea of Solomon “Solo” Davis I quickly discovered this story idea could turn into a series.

I have written a couple of other books that has a clear cut end, one that I published this summer, Intertwined.

But Solomon’s Dreams is a story that has taken on a life of its own in my writers mind. I have begun to think of these characters as friends with their sincerity and courage, but also with their flaws and wounds. These characters are just like us.

They each have back stories and in Book 2 you will learn more. Even though the story continues with an intriguing courtroom story six months after the Carbon Monoxide Killers spree in October, the reader will learn a little more of the history behind a few of the characters.

This book has emotional highs and lows of laughs and friendship, hate and revenge, remorse and pain, courage and closure, and still shock and twists.

I have been asked how long I will write this series, and my answer so far is as long as I find enjoyment in writing it. With each book I learn new things about the characters that both excites and hurts. I uncover the truth of heartache and pain just as the readers do. If you have to put down the book to recoup, I had to do it while I wrote it.

Some may not believe me, but many times I do not know the twists or backstory myself until the paragraph before it comes out. I may have an idea of how I want the story to go, but that doesn’t mean it will end up that way. One example is I started out writing the book with a killer in mind. Then after I was writing it, I decided the killer was actually someone else.

I was writing a mystery story and it was a mystery to me.

I hope you enjoy this little book. I hope you give it a try. It’s more than just a mystery-suspense story, but it’s very character driven with realistic personalities and I hope entertaining and sometimes thought provoking dialogue.

Peace and happy reading.

Identity – What is Yours?

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When you meet someone new, how do you respond with your greeting?

Our identity is ingrained in our multifaceted life. We give our name. We state where we are from and where we now live. We give our relationship status and their name and that of our dependents. We give our occupation. Sometimes we give our educational background as a way to unite new acquaintances.

That is usually the first go to.

Then if you enjoy their company, you get a little deeper. Likes, dislikes. We share our joys and passions and also our distastes and hates.

We find a common thread and we pull on that string until we feel that uncomfortable snag of going to far too quickly. So we stop and change subjects to bring some trust and reassurance.

But is that really your identity?

Is the identity you have stated at dinner parties, business meetings, sales calls and your kids soccer games really your true identity?

Or is that just the easy one to share without any judgement looks?

Why do we go on and on over being the biggest fan of the Tampa Bay Rays or Los Angeles Dodgers, the best at Among Us, or Beyonce’s president of her Facebook fan club, but hide our identity as a follower of Christ?

Is there a stigma of coming out with that line in your first meeting?

How would you respond if someone started out saying, “Hi, I’m a Christian and my name is Freddie…”

To be honest, if someone started like that to me, I would quickly find an excuse to leave the conversation.

Judgmental. Yes. Not my best trait.

But why am I opposed to people who do that? Why does that cause me to cringe and think they are brainwashed like in a cult? When really, I’m nodding my head and agreeing with them in my head.

Is it because they have a boldness I don’t have?

Sadly, I don’t even want it. Is that wrong?

What is better saying you’re a Christ follower or living like one?

But shouldn’t a Christ follower at least be able to say they are a Christ follower without the fear of the other party judging them? Shouldn’t a Christ follower not care about the stigma those words hold?

So what’s my identity? Do you want the one I tell in my first two minutes of meeting you or do you want the one I really am?

Maybe a good question to ask, “What is yours?”

Can you answer it honestly?

Or would you be like me?

Peace

Walking Away – Are We Hosea’s Wife?

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Hosea is an interesting little book in the Bible. It’s about an adulterous woman, Gomer (I know, what a name) and her husband Hosea. God repeatedly tells Hosea to go get your wife. Even when she’s sleeping around. Go get her. Even when she’s cheating on him out in the open. Go get her. Even when she keeps turning away. Go get her.

This COVID season has brought a lot of ugliness in society. One of the ugliness I see is the Church’s complacency. I see lukewarm faith. I see coals of ember that were a raging fire a year ago. I see the passion dying with the deer in headlights expression without a care. I see the look of “well this is 2020” as if that is a plausible excuse.

And we walk away.

The fire is going out and we aren’t even trying to stir the coals anymore.

I sometimes wonder what God is thinking. Do you think He is happy? Do you still flutter with butterflies when you get to talk to Him?

Shouldn’t we? We are His bride. We are His beloved. We are His love.

Yet we treat him like a turned off back burner and we wonder why we aren’t feeling the fire anymore.

This post is for me as well.

I’m feeling the emptiness and it’s my own fault. I can’t blame pastors, I can’t blame services, I can’t blame anyone but myself because at the end of the day my relationship to God is mine. It’s something I need to work on. It’s something that I need to cling onto. It’s something that I need to make a priority instead of expecting it to miraculously ignite in 2021.

God is still God. I am still His beloved. I am still loved. I am still apart of His worthy Bride.

A song that is very thought provoking is by Derek Webb, Wedding Dress. It’s a hard song to listen too because it doesn’t paint a lovely image of the Church. This album was even not allowed to be sold in some Christian stores because of the colorful words he sings to describe our wandering ways. But Mr. Webb doesn’t shy away from controversy. This may not be a song sung at church on Sunday, but it’s been one I song in my car.

If you could love me as a wife.
For my wedding gift your life.
Should that be all I ever need?
Is there more I’m looking for?
Should I read between the lines?
Look for blessings in the skies?
Make me handsome rich and white.
Is that really what you want?

‘Cause I am a whore I do confess.
I put you on just like a wedding dress,
And I run down the aisle,
Run down the aisle.
I am a prodigal with no way home.
I put you on just like a ring of gold,
And I run down the aisle,
Run down the aisle, to you.

Could you love this bastard child?
No, I don’t trust you to provide.
With one hand in a pot of gold
And the other in your side.
‘Cause I am so easily satisfied.
With the call of a lover’s soul as wild.
I would take a little cash
Over your very flesh and blood.

‘Cause I am a whore I do confess.
I put you on just like a wedding dress,
And I run down the aisle,
Run down the aisle.
I am a prodigal with no way home.
I put you on just like a ring of gold
And I run down the aisle,
Run down the aisle, to you.

‘Cause money cannot buy
A husband’s jealous eye.
When you have knowingly
Deceived his wife.

Has our complacency caused God to become jealous?

May we run down the aisle, to You. But the interesting thing is, He’s running after us just as Hosea chased down Gomer in all of her distasteful ways.

God still chases us down even though He knows what we did earlier today.

Another song that I love is by Brooke Fraser, Hosea’s Wife.

I just spoke silence with the seeker next to me
She had a heart with hesitant, halting speech
That turned to mine and asked belligerently
“What do I live for?”

I see the scars of searches everywhere I go
From hearts to wars to literature to radio
There’s a question like a shame no one will show
“What do I live for?”

We are Hosea’s wife
We are squandering this life
Using people like ladders and words like knives

If we’ve eyes to see
If we’ve ears to hear
To find it in our hearts and mouths
The word that saves is near
Shed that shallow skin
Come and live again
Leave all you were before
To believe is to begin

There is truth in little corners of our lives
There are hints of it in songs and children’s eyes
It’s familiar, like an ancient lullaby
What do I live for?

We are Hosea’s wife
We are squandering this life
Using bodies like money and truth like lies

If we’ve eyes to see
If we’ve ears to hear
To find it in our hearts and mouths
The word that saves is near
Shed that shallow skin
Come and live again
Leave all you were before
To believe is to begin

We are more than dust
That means something
That means something
We are more than just
Blood and emotions
Inklings and notions
Atoms on oceans

We may be just like Hosea’s wife, but we don’t have to be her tomorrow.

It’s time to make a change.

Me included.

Peace

Taxes…Yep, It’s Getting Political Like Always

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“Read my lips, no new taxes,” George H. W. Bush said during his 1988 presidential campaign.

A line that haunted him during his 1992 reelection since he couldn’t follow that catchphrase. Many things that Bush couldn’t control caused him to increase taxes. Nothing against him, but war happened, crises occurred, bills rolled in.

Then comes Clinton. He swooped in and enticed America and was re-elected in 1996.

I’ve heard people say Clinton was the best president of this generation. If we can look past his personal scandals, we can’t look past the benefits of the country. The economy was better. Employment was better. Life was better – or so I have been told.

I’m not opposed to taxes. We need taxes. Taxes provide infrastructure, military protection, national parks for enjoyment, free education, and many, many other things that we sometimes overlook.

I am a CPA and I deal with taxes for a living. I hear people complain about paying taxes and if you are honest with yourself you do not grin when you see your tax withholdings on your paycheck or paying your estimated tax payments each quarter.

I heard a very wise woman near the beginning of my career which I still remember. I had to tell her that instead of getting a refund she owed more tax. She took out her checkbook and didn’t grumble. She looked at me and said, “I guess this just means I was blessed last year.”

Wow! I wasn’t expecting that, but isn’t that so true.

If you are paying taxes, you are blessed with an income. You are blessed with financial means. You are blessed.

I’m not trying to get political, but from an accountant viewpoint taxes are essential. But fair taxes.

Most of the richest people in America are not employees like myself. They are business owners. Business owners hire employees and pay their wages and benefits. Companies pay their employees federal and state unemployment taxes and they match social security and Medicare taxes. These taxes are set percentages, but still the companies are paying these taxes.

When the government demands higher taxes for higher income individuals (business owners), the first thing that business owners look at in cutting costs is wages and benefits. If taxes go up, they cause their employees to start paying more in insurance premiums, they deduct retirement matching contributions, they decrease wages and then ultimately they layoff employees.

People may say that the rich people deserve to pay more taxes because they make more and they will still have excess funds. Yes, they may still have excess funds, but like everyone, when their excess dwindles they look at easy ways to recoup that loss.

Increase in taxes usually causes layoffs. Decrease in taxes can actually cause employment growth because it allows the excess to be paid for expansion of their business which ultimately means new jobs. New jobs means a healthier economy for the masses, not the few.

You may think less taxes will be collected, but when business owners pass on their wealth to expanding their business it still causes taxes to increase through their employees individual income taxes, unemployment taxes, FICA taxes, sales taxes on their purchases, and property taxes for the increase of their tangible value.

You may think I am writing this post because the high tax rates affect me, but I’m far from the highest tax rates. I got a stimulus check in May, so I’m not pandering to help my pocketbook. I’m just trying to show a different perspective.

So before you vote, look at the candidates tax plans. Which one benefits you? Which one has the best plan? Which one will cause the economy to grow?

If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Sadly, each side has economists that say their plan is the best one.

But you have to look beyond the opinions of getting votes and look at the facts. Look for yourself and decide.

Taxes may not be a deciding factor when you are casting your vote, but you need to know what you are voting for. The best voter is the informed voter.

Education is power.

Use your power.

Peace

Hope – This Is Mine

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It seems like the world is flipping, becoming topsy-turvy where what was sound is becoming blurred into a chaotic swirl.

I’m hearing more and more people talk of worry, stress, anxiety, depression and suicide. It seems we all know someone who is suffering more because of the uncertainty and emotional unrest in the world.

It seems a cheerful disposition isn’t able to cure the virus of feeling blah. The virus then turns into a debilitating disease that steals any breath of joy like an asthmatic attack. Until you find yourself struggling for a fresh breath of hope.

Hope. I wish we could bottle it up like a vaccine and distribute it to everyone who is suffering. I wish we could eradicate the disease of depression like Small Pox or Polio.

I wish…but it seems like that is all I do some days.

I wish I could crinkle my nose or rub a lamp and cause all of the fog to rise so we can see clearly.

But even in the most perfect of situations, would we see clearly.

What if all the madness in the world is trying to shine how constant and unwavering Christ is.

I heard someone say that if you never go through a period of unrest you will never feel the peace of God.

That statement may sound harsh, but it’s so true.

Explain to someone who is blind what a star looks like. Or explain to a deaf person what a string of a violin sounds like. Or explain to someone paralyzed what cotton feels like.

No matter how well you describe it, they will never fully comprehend it.

That is what hope is like.

I can talk for hours on the hope that I have, but for someone who can’t see, feel, or sense it, my words are just words. They are just a lovely idea like a science-fiction story of a far, far away galaxy.

I may not understand the fog, but I don’t have to settle in it.

I love the analogy of eagles. These large, majestic birds have the strength to fly high above the clouds. Even as a storm is brewing, they can soar above the clouds and wait out the storm in a peaceful setting. Even as a storm is raging nearby the eagle doesn’t have to be impacted by the torrential wind or rain.

They quickly have to make a decision.

They just have to decide to fly through the storm and rise above it. It has been said that the eagle is the only bird that loves storms because most birds flee from storms but they fly into them. They fly into the storm and uses the wind against the storm to help the eagle rise above the clouds to quickly escape from the damage.

What most people would say is a bad thing, the eagle uses the terrifying winds to shoot higher into the sky until they break the surface of the gray clouds.

As all the other birds are looking for shelter, the eagle flies into danger because it knows safety is just beyond the clouds. Clarity is within its wingspan. Hope is within view.

One hymn revered by millions, On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand, is one that gives me hope.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

God never guaranteed us a life without storms, but He did promise to be with us through them.

So what are you going to do, squawk like a crow or rise higher like an eagle.

It’s your decision.

But I plan to soar.

Peace