Living well

"Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:26-32


Several decades ago, then President Reagan was shot one day and nearly died. While recovering in the hospital his daughter came to visit him. During their visit he told her - "You know, Patty, We have to forgive him ( the shooter )" - or so the story goes. President Reagan wasn't about to let hatred consume him.

Paul's words to the Ephesians centuries ago remind us of the need to forgive and put wrath and malice aside. Of the need to live well and let bitterness, wrath, and anger go. Get rid of the anger. Don't let anger, wrath and the thoughts of revenge consume you. Is it really worth it?

Take a few simple steps to protect your loved ones and your property. Take action on proactive measures to avoid the anger in the first place. The bad guys don't care if we forgive them or not. They don't care about our anger. And I doubt they are too concerned with revenge happpening to them.

All we can do is live well. Put anger aside. Take actions to avoid the potential criminals. Make a plan and then get to work on it. You can plan and implement a reasonable do it yourself home security system.

President Reagan had many smart people planning for him. And despite their well thought security measures he still got shot. Luckily he survived. The plans paid off. He was rushed to a hospital and given medical care within minutes. He forgave. And I'm sure he planned some more.

We might not be able to prevent every crime. And we can sure make it harder for the criminals to ruin our sense of security. Take the steps to protect yourself and your family. Hopefully you'll never need to forgive someone!

A very wise mentor once admonished us to remember - "Living well is the best revenge". Thank You Irene. I wonder if she had been reading Ephesians that day.

Plan your defense

She called late on a Friday afternoon. Wanted to know what happened. I was busy and on my way out the door, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to speak with her briefly. Maybe I should have treated her like a telemarketer and politely excused myself. Maybe I should have asked her to call back. I started to tell her about the break in. I had immediately replaced my door locks - just in case the burglars got the extra set of keys I was unable to find. Before I could finish...

"We won't be able to reimburse you for that" she interrupted. And I had just started. She called to ask what happened. Barely twenty words had left my mouth when she let me know the bad news. I hadn't even got to the bulk of the losses. And she is already letting me know that her big insurance company wasn't going to pay - for even the simplest little expense - like replacing my door locks.

This gets me to wondering - If this rude, and unfriendly claims representative is already starting to deny me - what's next? Was this a negotiating ploy on her part? Was she trying to bully me into accepting a watered down, worthless offer? Was she just preparing me for more bad news?

Maybe she was having a bad hair day. Maybe her boss just hollered at her for paying some other customer too much on their claim. Maybe she was in a hurry to get home and didn't want to deal with me.

Who cares about maybe? All you really care about is getting reimbursed for your loss. Isn't that the reason we purchase insurance? Don't their TV ads propose to help soften life's little blows? To make our lives better? Don't they claim to be there for us? On our side?

Whatever their lame, profit based reasons - we owe it to ourselves to do as much as we can to prevent unexpected losses before they occur. Easy, simple measures like keeping your car doors locked. Keeping our houses as secure as possible. Closing the garage door when no one is around. Closing and locking windows before leaving.

Simple precautions can help protect you and your loved ones from all but the most determined criminal types. They won't let much deter them. The biggest majority of burglaries and home or business break-ins are performed by small time burglars in search of an easy bounty. Electronics and jewelry they can easily pawn or sell for a few dollars. Or trade for drugs.

Make the right decision and be proactive. Install deadbolts and use them. Install window locks and use them. Install outdoor lighting with motion sensors. Maybe even some wireless security cameras.

Plan your defense before you need it. Protect your family, your loved ones, your home, and possessions with a simple and effective do it yourself home security plan.

Do it yourself home security

"For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again; But the wicked are overthrown by calamity." Proverbs 24:16

Everyone makes mistakes. People make incorrect assumptions all the time. " That will never happen in our nice little neighborhood. After all, the bad guys live miles away" I thought!

Our error was in letting our guard down. Our defense was practically non-existent. Allowing our rear window to remain open and let some fresh air in while we left town for the day. We could have left the front door wide open and saved ourselves the expense of fixing the storm window the burglars damaged.

They encountered practically no roadblocks gaining entry through the rear window. They easily popped the storm window screen out of its frame. A lawn chair just a few short steps away had provided them with an easy stepping stool. The break-in most likely took fewer than ten minutes.

While little sister played lookout, the thugs entered our home.

Let the destruction begin. Some burglars can’t resist that unexplainable urge to wreak havoc in the homes they burglarize. They must get some kind of perverted or evil sense of joy from trashing peoples homes. Creating an instant disaster area wherever they go - throwing things around and emptying drawers as they search for their loot!

Our Bible says to forgive your enemy. To Love them. Proverbs goes so far as to suggest feeding them -

"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink" Proverbs 25:21

Why is this whole forgiveness thing so darn difficult? Why is it that the right thing to do is not always so easy?

I'm sure someday the Good Lord will share those answers with us.

In the meantime, I’ll stick to studying the Bible. And praising his glory. And being thankful for this humble little house we call home.

"Prepare thy work without, And make it ready for thee in the field; And afterwards build thy house" Proverbs 24:27

And we'll keep learning from our mistakes! I read recently that a smart man and woman learn from their mistakes. Then a wise man hires the smart man to make sure he doesn't suffer the consequences of those mistakes! We aren't able to hire a a smart man. But that won't deter our efforts to implement some security measures around the house.

We’ll invest some money in securing this house. And we'll invest a little time towards a do it yourself home security plan! It doesn't take much. Some basic measures and a few wireless home security cameras.

Perry's advice

A very wise man - Perry - suggested reading Proverbs in the Bible for time honored wisdom. Wisdom which has helped many a studious soul for hundreds of years. Perry is a very wise man. He is humble, and he quietly makes a LOT of Money!! And he helps others Make Lots of Money too! Not that Wisdom is entirely about making lots of money.

And - any man who has helped so many others make SO much money must know something. So I got to reading this Book of Proverbs in my trusty old Bible! Turns out old Perry was very helpful in his suggestion. ( Old Perry is probably not that old. I have NO idea how old he is! ) So, right there in Chapter 27 you'll find the following verse:

"Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. " Proverbs 27:10-12 (King James Version)

If we watch out for our neighbors - chances are they will return the kindness and watch out for us. It was a 9 year old neighbor kid who tipped off the police that the burglars who hit my house were just a couple of crack-heads who happened to live right across the street with a parent. That same 9 year old's Dad had left the comfort of his home to bring me phone with which I called those same police. He stayed by my side in case I needed any help. He helped me watch the rear of my property in case the burglars were still in the house.

I don't know his last name. I barely remember his wife's name. But on that fateful evening she took my son in her house while I dealt with the police and inspected the damage the little crack-heads had inflicted. Crack makes kids do stupid things. I can't imagine level headed young people doing the kind of damage I found in my house on that Spring evening.

I had not been prudent. I knew the threat existed. "Not in our nice little neighborhood" I thought. Boy was I wrong. I had fed those little crack head breakfast just a couple weeks earlier. I knew the Mother of one of them. We had been neighbors for at least five years. Crack does strange things to young minds. It makes them think they can steal stuff and buy more crack!

I don't know if those young drug addicts would have noticed if I had security cameras installed. But it sure would deter a more professional gang of burglars. Or capture video of any ass-wipe stupid enough to break into a house protected by a decent wireless security system.

Hindsight is always 20-20 vision. But now I know better. It can happen here. It does happen in nice little towns to nice folks. Every day! I hope you will take the timeless wisdom found in Proverbs to heart. Be prudent and protect your home and possessions. A good set of wireless home security cameras just might save you some needless grief.