Home Archive by category "Life" (Page 11)

Category: Life

It’s Your Choice, Everyday!

My dad used to say there is a reason “if” is in the middle of “LIFE,” because “life is what happens while you are making other plans.” Life is full of disappointments, set-backs, detours, and surprises. Happiness is not determined by how well life sticks straight to our plans and dreams, but by our attitude along the way as it twists and turns. As the old saying goes, we can look at the cup that is at 50% and say: It’s HALF FULL! It’s HALF EMPTY! Or just be stuck wondering… What will your choice be today? You may not be able to change your circumstances… but you can always change YOU! I’d love to hear in the comments what you have done to turn things around when you have felt stuck, discouraged or off track. Encourage others!

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The Dest Mijishon Ever

This summer my family and I traveled to Okoboji, Iowa where I did the children’s teaching for the Okoboji Bible Conference. It’s a super conference that families travel to from all over the country to enjoy not only the conference, but the family activities in the area from the lake to the amusement park and more. I taught mornings and evenings and then our family had fun during the day too. One evening a sweet little girl came up to me, gave me a hug and slipped me a note “to read later.” One side was a picture of her holding my hand and the other was said, “Carl, you are the dest mijishan I had ever met. LOVE Ellie.” She even drew two linking rings unlinked, followed by an arrow and then they are magically linked! Of course, this simply note made my day, and her creative spelling only added to the charm. Out of a gymnasium full of children one little girl took some time to get some paper and crayons and make me a little note… a note I shall be saving. It reminded me of an encouragement note I got the last time I spoke at…

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Times Flies When You Are Growing Up!

Just marveling how my “little boy” is growing up! I went back through my iPhoto and grabbed the first day of school pictures since Luke started pre-school and it’s fun to see him growing up: Luke going to first day of preschool… Luke going to first day of Pre-K: Luke going to first day of Kindergarten: Luke starting 1st grade this week: On one hand – I am amazed at how BIG he is, it seems only yesterday I had my first Father’s Day with a little baby: But on the other had, it hasn’t gone quickly. I know parents are always saying “the time flies” but it hasn’t seem to fly for me. I have been so enjoying each and every day and the unique aspects of Luke’s personality at each age, and what he can do, and what he is learning, that I feel like it’s been going at a pace that I’ve been truly enjoying. I’m sure when I’m at his wedding, I’ll join the chorus of “how did it pass so quickly?” But for now, it’s going at a great pace. There are things I’m eager for him to be older and able to do with…

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Karl the Pioneer?

As I have just spent the last two days driving across the “fruited plains” I have had time at the wheel to think again about the rich (and sobering) history of this Great Land. And I love to day dream about what life would have been like for myself and my family had we lived in a time when crossing it wouldn’t have been in an air-conditioned mini-van with cruise control and fast food stops or look-a-like rest areas on paved Inter-states – but perhaps along the Oregon or California Trails of 1840? A time when it took months at walking pace to travel hundreds of miles into the unknown leaving all comfort behind and going forward with only hope and courage. What would “Karl the Pioneer” be like? I have often been called a “Pioneer of the Internet.” In today’s definition of a pioneer I suppose that is true. If being a pioneer is to ‘bravely go where few have gone before,’ then sure. O.K. I was a pioneer. I was building webpages in HTML when most people didn’t have an e-mail address and “blogging” before WordPress or Blogger existed. I survived the “Dot Com Crash” because I built…

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Build, Destroy, Build Again!

As mentioned on my podcast this week, my son and I spend a great deal of time each day playing Angry Birds… but not on an iPhone or iPad… but with real birds and pigs and blocks, and I might mention they are Star Wars themed too! We take turns building towers and placing our pigs, and then trying to knock them down with the birds via the little sling shots. There is a bit of strategy to how we build, but for the most part you are building something you know is going to be destroyed. So while we may spend a great deal of care and creativity building, we can’t get too attached to our masterpieces knowing the whole point of the building, was to knock them down! We have to remember the real joy isn’t in the building, it is in the playing together. In fact, the whole point of the game isn’t what we build or even the shooting of birds to knock it down – it is Daddy-Son time. At the end, when the floor is a mess, it is a sign that we had a great time. It’s kinda like kidmin. It reminds me…

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