Wednesday, December 30, 2009

How I beat the winter blues


I used to get extremely tired in the winter. The winter blahs is you will. I did not like that. So a couple of years ago I figured out what works for me to beat the winter blues. Running! I guess it does not have to be running, any exercise outside will do. Sledding with my kids counts too. But obviously for me running is my favorite. So I am looking at some crazy winter races just to keep me motivated to train and run harder. Any one else have way to beat those winter blahs?

Monday, December 28, 2009

Long lasting ministry

Here is something that I am learning. When you invest your life in to people, you will not see results for 10 years. Most people are not willing to wait those 10 years. I think the last time I heard, the average length of a youth pastor is 6 months. The average length of a pastor is a year and a half.
I then look at Jesus, he took 3 years to disciple the disciples. Now I am thinking that it was a much more intense ministry experience then what we experience today. I also am thinking that Jesus was probably a little better then any of us will ever be.
So with that being said, invest yourself for the long term. It is then that you will see results. I am always amazed at my dad. He has been in the same place, investing himself into people lives for 33+ years. I get to see what he accomplished. But it is only because of the number of years he has invested.
Today we went out to eat for supper. Our server happened to be a kid in our kids klub about 8 years ago. Really cool catching up with him. He is doing good. Man that makes me happy. It makes me want to keep on doing what I am doing.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas

Wow! Christmas, is amazing. So much fun with little kids. Just to see how excited they get. I was amazed at Isaiah. He was just so overwhelmed. Poor guy on Christmas night was crying about everything. He just was too tired.
Just like last year, Santa showed up at my house again. I still don't know how it is. However, I think I have some clues. I am going to figure it out. You just wait an see.
Now what I am seriously contemplating opening and assembling every toy before I wrap them. It is a huge pain to sit there and try to open the present while your son is hovering 2 inches away from you saying "daddy is it ready yet?" So in honor of fighting with toy packaging here is a hilarious song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1t90Bg9wAw
Not my family or me -- but very similar!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Ode to my laptop

Dear Laptop,
I have missed you so much. These pass 2 weeks without your power supply have been tough. I could not use you. You sat there, just waiting for me to use you again. My first attempt to order a new power supply went wrong. It was wrong cause I ordered the wrong one. You would think that I knew you better then that. So when I ordered then 2nd time, I made sure you were the right one. To my amazement, when I got the mail today, the power supply was there. I quickly opened up the package, ran to the room, plug you in. It worked! I was so happy. To be able to use you again. I just felt right. Surviving these two weeks using Heather's was tough. (to Heather's credit, she shared really good). But it is great to have you back old friend!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Feeling Tired

I will admit that this last couple of weeks have been very long. I knew that they would be. It is Christmas time. Of course it is going to be crazy. But I know it was going to be crazy so I have been doing a couple of things to help.
  • Try to get enough sleep. It is amazing what 8 hours can do for you.
  • Eat healthy. Though I am not the expert, stuff like normal food at normal time and not a plethora of cookies (aka dieting made simple)
  • Exercise -- clears the mind
  • Dwell on the things of God. I like to take a thought and ponder it until my ponderer is sore.
  • Take moments to remember why your are doing what you are doing.
  • And look for those tiny glimpses of what we are working for -- and hold on to those.

Just a couple of things that are getting me through this craziness.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

How to fix a problem

Today was dishwasher install day. I know, that doesn't sound too fun, but trust me it is. We just purchased a brand new commercial dishwasher at the Lighthouse, so we had to install it. Now of course we hook it up, do everything that we were supposed to do and of course it does not work. Argh. We look at it for a while. Could not figure it out. Then we walked away. At that point, there was a great "I got it" moment. We figure it out. So we run back to the dishwasher look at it, think through the theory, and sure enough, that is the solution. So then we execute the plan. Run back down the stairs, turn on the breaker, then turn it on. It works! It works! It works! Yippee!
Sometimes, it is better to walk away, think through a situation, then tackle it.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

My 2 hour trip that normally is 7 minutes

This morning I get a call from a friend telling me that he was stuck at the local store. So I hurry up get a shower and head out the door. While walking down the stairs I am thinking "boy it is a little slippery out here." So I carefully start to drive up the road thinking "hey its a little slippery but not to bad. Then I get to the main road. Sheet of ice! I start heading up a hill and I see that there are two cars that were not moving. I start to go up the hill and quickly realize I am not going to make it. So I stop and wait. I am not that good at waiting. Mean time, I hear about a bunch of accidents, so I start thinking, yeah this is not too bad. Eventually a salt truck went by and salted the road. I was able to get up the hill, and get to my friend (2 hours later).
I don't understand why, but I enjoy the adventure! I am weird like that.

My poor laptop

Sorry that I have not blogged in a while. My laptops power cable broke. Yes, this is the 2nd power supply that broke. Oh well. The good news is the new power supply on its way. I will survive. Sorry no blogs.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Weather...and God

Today is one of those crazy days. You know, wind, rain, sun, clouds, warm, cold, hail, nice, burr, ect... all within 2 hours. Now you would think that something was going on. But it was all designed by the God of variety. He makes us all different and he makes the weather different. I know I would have never made that many different things. I just would not think of all those different things.
Now see here is also another aspect. In all this changing weather, I knew that God was in control. I know that God designed all of this. I know that He knew what he was doing. So instead of worrying about it, or complaining about, I decided to just enjoy it.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

IRS...the ongoing saga

Today I added yet another chapter to my IRS story. I called them the other week to ask if they are ever going to respond to my letter I wrote them 3 months ago and they said they would get back to me in 45 days. So upon talking to them, I was getting nowhere fast. Eventually the lady told me to go to a IRS walk-in facility. I said ok where is one. They told me in Warrendale. They gave me the hours, 8:30-3:30. Finally today I had the opportunity to stop in the morning. I made it there at about 9:00. Open the door and no light is on. I stand there for about 2 minutes, finally find a phone. It had a couple of options, so I dialed one of them. "How can I help you?" "I am here for a review" "Ohh, you can only do that on Mondays" You got to be kidding me. Argh. However, you could go to the one in Butler, they are open everyday. So I drive up to Butler. I find the office. Go in. I am the only one there, and I start talking to the guy. He asked me a few questions, found my file online. Then he says "ohh it appears that there was an adjustment made yesterday" Turns out they finally go to reviewing my file. Guess what? I was right! They are fixing their error. I am getting a bigger return. Yes folks it is true. I fought the IRS and I won.
Next step...run for president?

Monday, December 7, 2009

A culture of affirmation

The other day I got an email with the subject "a culture of affirmation." I don't really remember what the email was about. But the subject line got me thinking.

A culture of affirmation, now that sounds nice. In fact if I was to ask for a show of hands how many people would like to be in a culture of affirmation, I would venture to guess that 99% of everyone would raise their hands. (what can I say, there is always one weirdo in the group. Wait that wasn't too affirming was it?) Of course all of us want to be in a culture of affirmation.

Now maybe about 5 years ago I would have said something like, lets all live in a culture of affirmation. But that is not good enough anymore. I want to take it to the next level.

It is not enough to say "I want to live in a culture of affirmation." You have to be that change that you want to see in others. So your task is this: create a culture of affirmation. Stop tearing people down. Start building them up. Be the culture of affirmation. Make it your goal starting now. People (yes I am included in this) need affirmation. Be the one to give it to them. Give it a shot. Let me know how it goes.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Getting to know people better

I think one of the best things in life is getting to know people better. Honestly, the more you know people, your perspective changes. The more you know people, the more you realize that no one actually has it all together. You realize that they are just as screwed up as the person who you actually are that you try to hide.
I get to see that at the Lighthouse all the time. The more that I know who we are serving and who is giving the more fun and rewarding ministry is. When you have people trying to help people who are in a situation that they have been in, man that is great to see.
When you are at church and you see people who you know all to well worshiping God. There is nothing more powerful than that. You know their short comings. You know their hurts, their pains, their struggles. Yet they are not letting what is wrong with them stop them from worshiping what is right with God.
It is late at night, I should be tired, but thinking about things like that, I get excited! :)