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Category: Life

Now THAT is a pile of snow!

I was up in Wisconsin on Saturday speaking at the INSIDE-OUT Elmbrook Children’s Ministry Conference, and could not believe what I saw when I arrived: (click any picture for a larger view) Yes, they had construction machinery moving the snow. MAN, was I jealous, that looked like so much fun! That is some serious snow removal! They take all the snow and put it in one corner next to a retention pond. By the end of the day, the pile was HUGE! I was told that their snow pile last into July! I just HAD to see the view from up there! It was a lot bigger than it looks in these pictures, and teens were snow boarding down the other side! Why did I climb the mountain of snow, with a cane and a sprained ankle? Because it was there!

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How Super is Winning the Super Bowl?

Reprinted from Bill Alison’s Amazing Time Management Secrets: It’s one thing to climb the ladder of success, but it’s quite another to climb the RIGHT ladder. Just how super is winning a Super Bowl? Consider these insights by guest blogger Josh Carter: From the outside looking in, Tom Brady appears to have the life everyone longs for, despite not winning Super Bowl XLII. But things are different on the inside. In a past interview with 60 Minutes Brady raised the question, “Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.” When pressed to answer his own question, Brady responded, “I wish I knew.” “My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after…

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What’s the Difference?

At dinner last night with friends who had gathered in Vista, CA for a meeting, we were discussing a wide variety of things, but one statement stood out for me. It was a quote from a person quoting someone else, so I don’t know who to attribute it to, but one of the guys was saying that in a job interview the candidate asked: What is the difference between an average person and a person of excellence? The answer was FOCUS. The excellent person is just an average person, but with focus. There are many good things that can consume our days and we can be busy about a great many things, but the key is asking what is God asking me to focus on today? Your walk with Him? Your family – spouse or a specific child? Another relationship – perhaps a relative or friend? Or a specific project? Every morning make it a habit to jot down 2-3 things that will be your FOCUS for the day. Put them first and allow them to DRIVE YOUR DAY and let the rest of the “stuff” that enters your day to come second, if you even get to them. Excellence…

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POP Goes the Ear!

Well, at 9:58 a.m., nearly 48 hours since the world went silent… my EAR POPPED! I actually had thought it was coming back and had told family I was at 90% hearing as I could finally at least talk to people and hear what they were saying, but I must have been at only 50-60% because as I sat here eating brunch and doing some writing on Leadership Lab 03, my ear suddenly POPPED and I suddenly felt like I was standing under a waterfall of noise, or like I had stepped behind the engine of a jumbo jet! I actually said “WHOA!” out loud and got a few looks from neighboring tables. In case you are curious, here is an animated GIF that shows how/why your ear gets stopped up. It is from this page that explains how your ear gets “blocked” and how to unblock your ears. (A method that did not work for me) Ah, the world has so many sounds now! I can hear the clatter of some dishes in the kitchen, the clanking of a cart going by, the humming of some distant machine, the whining of some kid, the gossiping of some girls nearby,…

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Help! I’m Deaf!

I left Chicago this morning where it was -4 degrees! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! While I am basking in warm sunny Florida now a few days before CPC, I am quite bummed because I had to leave Sara and Luke behind due to them still being sick. It’s been over two weeks they’ve been fighting a flu bug and Sara’s has gotten worse! And even worse, we were going to celebrate Luke’s 2nd birthday at the Magic Kingdom tomorrow. Instead, I won’t even see my little guy on his birthday! (cue the violins) At least Luke doesn’t know what he’s missing out on. He just thinks he was supposed to hang out at Grandma and Grandpas for a few days. And then to add to the weirdness of this trip, I’ve been completely deaf all day! I’m already deaf in my left ear, and as I landed this morning my only other functioning ear was completely blocked and has remained so all day. It has been quite fascinating walking around Downtown Disney unable to hear a thing, and interacting with people to order food, etc. is strange – I can barely hear my own voice and don’t know how loud I’m speaking. I…

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