Bunkbeds aren't just for kids

One thing about prison in Michigan is that you can almost be guaranteed that you'll have a bunk-mate, or bunkie as it's commonly called. Very few prisons have single-man cells, and those that do usually reserve them for predatorial inmates. 

The problem with having a bunkie is that it's a crapshoot. You could get anyone, and you sleep either right below or right above them. You have no choice in the matter.
I've had a cornucopia of bunkies in my six years (so far) in prison. I was fortunate to have my own cell for two of those years, but the trade-off was that i was housed in the only all single-cell prison where many of the difficult to manage predators were located. Of 1300 prisoners, over 350 of them were designated as predators for one reason or another. 

The bunkies I have had include Sunni muslims, Nation of Islam members, Moabites, Christians, gang members, robbers, murderers, rapists, and homosexuals. I've had clean-freaks, and nasty bunkies, and everything in between. I've had bunkies threaten and try to intimidate me for no reason, hate me because I'm white, steal from me, encourage me, share with me, and teach me the ins-and-outs of prison life. 

Getting a bad bunkie is, I imagine, like being stuck in a bad marriage. But here you have to learn to make it work. Sometimes it's these "small" things that make a huge difference in how you do your time. 

I'm fortunate to have a great bunkie right now and I feel blessed. I'm fortunate to have the size and respect of others that makes someone think twice about following through on threats, and the conflict resolution skills to avoid it coming to that in the first place. But ultimately I give God glory for keeping me safe in the midst of people who need no reason to do me harm. 

I Refuse To Set New Year's Resolutions

New Year's resolutions are like a new diet. You're excited about starting, but then it becomes a chain around your ankles keeping you from the feeling of freedom. 

I don't make resolutions any more because I discovered that they are nothing more than an expression of our desires without the commitment to follow through.

I wrote a blog post some time back about Active Hope. This hope is more than desire. It is desire mixed with action. I've come to understand that a lot of the difference is in the strength of our faith in the final result. What do you envision in the end?

The same goes for our desires. Author Napoleon Hill called this "definiteness of purpose" (Think and Grow Rich). Dr. Charles Stanley called it discipline when he said, "Discipline, not desire, determines our destiny."

Every desire we have must have a definiteness of purpose if we are to achieve it. It's not enough to simply desire a thing. You can't say, "I want to lose weight" and achieve it without first clarifying the desire (lose 20 lbs), setting a time goal (by March 1st), and having a definiteness of purpose behind it. 

There must be more behind our desires. They must be quantifiable, measurable, and so fixed in our minds as achievable that we already see them accomplished. Desires, just like faith and hope, must have feet to bear fruit. 

So consider not setting New Year's resolutions. Determine what your desires are and start by making a plan to accomplish them. Then develop the definiteness of purpose needed to see them as already achieved before you actually accomplish it.