Do jets lag?

God brought me safely back. It's so great to see everyone. If anything, this is even better than I remembered. James picked me up from the airport, and is doing all he can to make this stay great. Smells do wonders on your memory. All the smells in India so much more.

Praise God, I don't feel much jet lag effects. For the 4 hours after we arrived until now, I was able to sleep very well. Waking up wasn't difficult either. I feel more awake now than I usually do when I wake up.

The flights weren't too bad, either. I got some really good reading done, as well as an outline for some chapters of a book Dad and I are writing.

The first book I read was James Altucher's "How to be the Luckiest Person Alive." James talkes about his life and how various practices he has done seem to create luck. He is a nonconformist with a unique perspective on the world. There is a lot we can learn from his methods. His goals don't resonate well with me (making money as the end). I'm reading to learn, not to judge. I learn what I can and ignore what I don't want to learn. Here are 3 methods I would like to implement:
- Give. Give your talents to help others. Try to make their lives better. His business philosophy is, "Improve people's lives enough that they are willing to part with their hard-earned money for it." Whether in business or in personal life, this is something I can always improve.
- Work out your creative mind each day. Treat it like a regular muscle. Every day, come up with a list of 10 ideas. The ideas themselves aren't important, what's important is the workout. (On the plane, I started making a list of ideas for things to do in Bangalore. The initial goal was 10. The list ended at 46. If I can do it, you can too.)
- Meet new people. The meet more new people. Get to know them. How they are different than you. How they are similar. Try to help them out.

The second book, one I'm working through right now, is The Ragamuffin Gospel. Here are some lines in there which are worth paraphrasing:
- Quoting Morton Kelsey "The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners." (I need to be reminded of that. Frequently. I tend to put people on pedestals. Whether that person is me or someone else. We are all sinners saved by grace. While some of us may be better or more committed to ____, we are all in the same boat. The only one who we should be lifting up is Christ.)
- When asked what to DO to receive eternal life, Jesus turned to children. Not that they were perfect. But that they weren't WORKING to obtain. They knew what they received was given to them as a gift.
- Imagine a little boy trying to help his fater with some household work or make his mother a gift. The help may be nothing more than getting in the way, and the gift may be totally useless, but the love behind it is simple and pure, and the loving response it evokes is virtually uncontrollable. I am sure it is this way between our Abba and us. (Yes!)

Now time to eat yet another one of Auntie's awesome breakfasts. I've been sipping her awesome tea while writing this.

How 'bout them Hawkeyes?