Cartoon of a dad eating potato chips. He says to his son, “Hey, Son. I’d like to talk to you about self control right after I finish this bag of chips.”

This cartoon appeared in the January, 2012 issue of the Church of God newsletter.

Self-control is something that’s been on my mind lately. We live in a world where everyone seems to have at least a little attention deficit disorder. There are so many things vying for our attention, that it is difficult to keep our eyes on one thing.

Yet, if you want to be successful at something, I realize I need to focus on one thing and do it well. It’s easier said than done when you like to draw, design and write. That’s why I’ve loved cartoons. It takes a little of all three to produce a comic. You have to be a jack of all trades to make it work. But when you have different talents, and you use them all, can you ever be a master of one?

The hard thing about discipline is I have to make some choices and toss other things out. At the same time, I won’t compromise on important things like my faith, family or health. Discipline doesn’t really work if I am not taking care of my mind, body or spirit.

So is there such a thing as a balanced, disciplined life? Who knows? All I know is when someone passes around a bag of chips, I am the first one plunge my hand in and stuff my face!

Cartoon of two boys staring at a manger. On says, “You know something? The first Christmas didn’t have much bling… except for the angel thing.”

Cartoon of a man who has passed out at an ATM. A boxing glove hangs out of the ATM machine. the caption reads, “Mark just discovered there is a substantial penalty for overdrawing his account.”

Cartoon of a doctor and an elf. The elf says, “Of course my blood pressure is high. You insist on taking it around Christmas time!”

Cartoon of people waiting in line. One man says, “I don’t normally expect long, Christmas-shopping lines at a convenience store.”