tracks in the dust

Archive for the tag “tracks in the dust”

03 Mar 2013

Friends

To me it seems like friends can be an extension of your life.

It is good to have a mirror of reflection in your life, to compare things with each other. Take time to stop and make things be real in some way. Not that friends have to see everything 100% the same. That would actually be very bland over time. Being friends allows us to validate what emotions are, what seems right and wrong in the world, to laugh and perhaps cry with each other.

Friends can help share your pain, and sometimes cause it- but the are of value in our lives. They are part of the memories of the past and the present, they can be the reason that you greater cherish the future.

Sometimes its hard to find them, often there may be some people in your life that are truly not really interested in being your friend. But when your do find them, or they find you… it can be unique and special.

Thanks to all the friends then.They are walking with you, making those tracks in the dust that will eventually blow away on the spin of the Earth. What they can help you do is make more permanent mark on the lives you touch ahead.

Not the Facebook kind of friends, not the casual people who come and go in your life, but those friends that you know have made your life a better one. To those friends who will be there when you need them if they can, to the friends that make your life more rich. I know it sounds sappy or like something out of a movie or a beer commercial, it is one of those things that can sound like that I suppose.

What is it about friends you have in your life? What makes them special to you?

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life and tagged Acceptance, being remembered, cherish, Faith, Friends, Friendship, People, Postive Thinking, relationship, tracks in the dust

08 Feb 2013

4 Comments

One Year Later, Thank You Followers

So here it is exactly one year later since last February when I started Tracksinthedust.

Like so many others bloggers I have read it was not my intention to collect 1000’s of followers.

Yet it has been fantastic that some of you fellow WordPress bloggers are visiting from time to time, and for my Facebook friends to drop by- it’s always wonderful to get a comment now and then as well.

My hope is that in the course of things my kids catch some of it. They mean the world to me and my wife. Even for my oldest son who left home at 18 and has never looked back.

I will continue to share some of my journey on my fight with cancer on the Cancer Letters – I pray that isn’t a turn off but I wanted to get that down in writing. Probably more therapeutic for me than for those who would read it I guess.

It’s been fun touching on music, and lyrics and poems ( on my new page) Songs and Poems from Another Time

It has been great to make some bloggy friends along the way as well!

Most of all I have learned that no matter where people live in the world there are so many similarities. Worries and loves, hates and frustrations, wonders and kindness, spiritual needs and wanting to know how we all fit in.

They are all there in everyone.

Hope that some of you will continue to drop by and leave a comment when it moves you.

Here’s to another year for all of us!

Mark (Mgert)

Special shout to some of WordPress bloggers from around the world and right here in Texas who have dropped by for comments.

♥ Hope the Happy Hugger for all your wonderful comments and inspriation

Istopforsuffering for your spiritual vision

NoBlogintended for your views on life

Mari for your such beautiful prose

Aix for your insight on living

InWonderland (Audrey) for being such a genuine person

Posted in About mgert123 and tagged being remembered, Blog, Blogger, choices, Faith, Gertenbach, Grace, Lyrics, Music, Poetry, Self-Awareness, Sprituality, tracks in the dust, WordPress

30 Dec 2012

4 Comments

Our New Year’s Resolve

The new year is just around the corner. Every year it seems, it serves as a chance for people around the world mark a milestone on the path of their lives.

In reality the day after December 31st is just like any other day, but as the calendar changes to a new set of 365 days, it gives us pause to recall what we personally have accomplished with the year since the last calendar change. Some big victories perhaps. some big disappointments. It’s really about what we’ve done with them both that makes up where we are now.

When we were down, did we have the fortitude to plow though the adversity and make a difference in our lives? When things were going well, did we make efforts to grow and become better from it?

I tell my kids that even the small accomplishments could help lead to more. Never take for granted what you have and make sure you appreciate it – but take the next step to make the best of those. Accumulating small victories can truly be a richer experience than getting the bigger ones’.

So as the calendar turns, some will celebrate… but let’s hope we can all be accountable for what was good and what could have been better. Make sure you see the difference, reflect on it and build on what you can. Disappointment and sadness is surely ahead, but what you do when that happens will tell-the-tale on your new year.

“Resolutions” are the traditional thing to do at the beginning of each year… but resolve is stronger than “resolutions”. Resolve to be the genuine person you can be, fight adversity and take each moment as a milestone (not just midnight on December 31). Resolve to stay accountable to your values, resolve to stay strong through the tough times and build on the victories when they happen. Look for the opportunities to celebrate the new year each day as it comes.

Related Tracks-in-the-dust

Celebrate Milestones

Levels of Accountability

Finding a Purpose

Control Your State of Mind

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Change, Love, Memories, moments, New Year, New Year's Day, New Year's resolution, Reality Check, tracks in the dust, Who Are You

25 Nov 2012

4 Comments

“One Lovely Blog” Award

It’s nice to know that others are interested in your blog, lately I have been slower to post- mainly because of the holidays and my work schedule. But looks like I have been nominated for an “award” and for that I am always grateful.

Here goes:

The rules:
1) Link back to the blogger who nominated you

Thank you, to Miss Audrey at In Wonderland for the nomination. It is always wonderful to visit your site and see what’s new.

2) Paste the award image on your blog, anywhere.(done)

3) Tell them 7 facts about yourself.

7 facts about myself:

1) I grew up in Wisconsin (USA). One very nice place in the summer, nasty cold during the winter.

2) I love music of all kinds. Well most of them. After 12 years in Texas I even love certain country artists. A concept this old rock-n-roller would have never guessed in my younger days. I love a lot of the contemporary music today as much as the old stuff.

3) Over the past few years I have come to appreciate time like never before. Cancer diagnosis can do that.

4) I am a Christian. That often means an immediate label. I don’t mind the label. I know that others have their beliefs, including their preconceived notions about Christians. Believe in the Grace of God. It is real.

5) I have always wanted to do more traveling with my wife, but it always seems to be hard to do. Every-day living gets in the way.

6) I have been blessed with a lot of great friends that I have met over the years. They have made life worth it.

7) I have 4 kids, they are all officially “adults” now… but they have taught me a lot. They are priceless.

4) Nominate 15 other blogs you like for this award. (I’ll nominate 6 like Miss Audrey did)

1) No blog intended– always worthwhile checking in on her site

2) OneNewThing my dear friend Caroline’s new blog… fun!

3) HopetheHappyHugger – Half way around the world, but a genuine great person

4) Practical Proverbs – Dave has captured so much about the Word and made it fit in the real world today

5) Mikes Look At Life – the photography is outstanding and always interesting

6) Pure Instinct – a lovely person – a lovely blog from aix

5) Contact the bloggers that you have chosen to let them know that they have been nominated.

I’ll do that soon!
6) Resume blogging your regular posts.

Posted in About mgert123 and tagged Acceptance, being remembered, Faith, Grace, One Lovely Blog Award, Postive Thinking, Texas, tracks in the dust, Wisconsin

31 Oct 2012

1 Comment

Imperfection is Perfect

As the song goes “that’s the way God planned it”.

It seems that perfection (like beauty) is in the eye of the beholder. Imperfection is what makes things so right. Nothing is perfect- there are blemishes in nature, and humankind is far from it. So many strive for it, but the harder they work toward it the farther it seems.

So what about this imperfect life we live? Some of the rough parts are hidden, some of them are there for all to see. Some things are ugly, others are beautiful. There is not going to be a way to be perfect in everything. Only one man on Earth was and He died on the cross.

Today in the media, it seems there is always some story about a gaffe or mistake that fromcelebrity or politician doing or saying something. People put under the microscope of public media. Scrutinized for any mistake, or unexpected action not commonly fitting the in the “perfect form” we think we want. Awk! Like pictures of celebrities in regular every day circumstances, women celeb’s without their make up on (really?) or politicians making comments that don’t fit what we think they should be saying (especially for the opposition during election).

All this just appears to reinforce our expectations for what the media or some portion of the community wants to paint as “the standard” of perfection . It feels like a bad trend. It makes others feel inferior when they shouldn’t It sets the bar so high that others feel they cannot ever reach it.

Sadly, so many continue to live up to expectations of perfection they will be hard-pressed to ever achieve. They look for approval that never comes, and in their frustration they get angry or sad. Sometimes the emotion leads to violence or suicide. Other times it leads to depression and hopelessness.

We have to accept imperfection. God embraces it. We have to understand that in itself there is the beauty of uniqueness ( is that a word?). There is something that makes everyone and every thing worthwhile. If we put that under the microscope instead and rejoiced in it… relished its imperfection. Celebrate the exceptions.

So what can we look for in our striving for perfection? What do you believe? Do you believe?