Honest discussions

I listened to Michael Savage on Monday afternoon. Don't often catch him, but that day I did and it was very interesting. He was interviewing Lord Christopher Monckton, former science adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The Republican party had brought him in as a "star witness" to refute the claims of Al Gore and global warming before Congress. He was met by Representative Henry Waxman and denied access to speak in front of Congress. Why????

Are we not open to honest discussion and debate? I thought we were a free society where different views are acceptable? Perhaps the science of either side of the debate is tainted by politics! It's very sad!

In this case I am not taking a side! However, I am taking the side of people having an honest discussion and getting fair coverage in it's reporting! Whether you hail from the "left", the "right" or in the "center" we all deserve to be heard and listen to the ideas of others! Don't settle for anything less!

Plain wrapper life

Have you ever thought about how much of your life is the same? It's been said, "the problem with life is that it's so daily". In a society that thrives on extraordinary events, we live very normal and simple lives. Each day we endure, laundry and dishes, early mornings and getting ready for work, commuting or rushed dinners!

Now, we could fight this simple life or we could change our value system to support the "plain wrapper life" that we will spend most of our existence accomplishing! Before you get depressed over my thoughts, let's consider what makes this "average life" worth living.

Short answer??? People! It's always about people. I want to affirm living plain, but living to enjoy the people in your life, while you do average things! I am not ashamed of being normal, because I have Lori, Maddie, Austin, Jordan and countless family and friends to enjoy in my life. I am richly blessed and I love you all!

About or Encounter

I was reading a biography about a Christian singer/songwriter (Rich Mullins). He stated something that I read early today and it really helped me. Sometimes when I read the Bible (okay, most of the time), I read it to learn ABOUT God. For Rich Mullins, he reads to have an ENCOUNTER with God. That's what I want to do! I want to know God, not just the facts about Him!

Routines

I get up early nearly every day! In order to make this a better experience for my wife, I lay out whatever workout clothes or morning clothes the night before. Last night it was some PJ bottoms and slippers plus mtn. bike shorts and two layers of shirts. It's 42 outside and I am going riding at 5:30!

Routines like this can be helpful! The are predictable behaviors that help us manage life, but sometimes they can be restrictive. For example, In the last month (March into April) it has been cold on a few mornings. I prepared for 35 degrees the night before and it is 25. I don't know if you have ever been running in 25 degree weather, but it is COLD.

I suppose, like everything else we face in life, flexibility is key. I can prepare (have a routine) but I must take into account other things that I did not plan and BE FLEXIBLE.

A proud moment for a dad

Maddie is running track this Spring. She is a beautiful 13 year old girl, built just like her mom. She has strong legs and a great stride.

On Saturday, we went to a track meet and watched her run a mile. Her personal best was 6:53. We discussed the strategy for the race for her and she went out to run it. Wow! She looked amazing and tears came to my eyes as I watched her run as we discussed and she was so strong! Her time???? 6:39. An amazing improvement. She finished 2nd in 7th grade girls and 5th overall in the race!

Who's to blame for this finanical mess?

I recently saw a pole that asked who was most at fault for the financial problems the USA is in today. They had "Wall Street, Lenders, Buyers, Obama or Bush Admin they even went back to Clinton and the Democratic Congress. As I considered how I would answer I thought that I could put blame on each and every group. This revelation brought me to a larger principle that helped me answer the pole for myself.

The principle I worked from is this, "people will most often do what helps themselves most". I know it's not very scientific, but it will help give some insight into this issue we face as a nation today and how other decisions (both public and private) can be made better in the future.

Think about it like this, if the tax code changes, business owners and individuals alike will seek to keep the maximum amount of their money. Some might say, it's a tax-dodge, but it's basic human nature. If I am a leader in America and I know this basic human tendency then I can anticipate how people will respond to a change in the tax code.

It's the same thing in the current financial crisis. While I can place blame in lots of areas, I go back to the beginning ideal of housing for all and those who proposed it (and I thinks it's a great thought). It seems to be the first domino to fall.

Does it matter that I would place more blame on those who originate something like affordable housing...NO! I don't even care, but we must learn to operate with the understanding of human nature. If we can think about how a proposal could be taken advantage of then perhaps some decisions could be avoided that would benefit us all! Leaders must understand that people can and will take advantage of programs and that might start us on the road to disaster.

If you read this and are mad at me about my thoughts, please hear my heart! I am firmly convinced that blame does not benefit any of us at this point. What I want to stress is making good decisions based on how people will respond to that decision. That's the sum of it! Make it better to create jobs in America and people will create jobs. If gas gets expensive, people will drive less! It's not hard to predict outcomes based on decisions!

Hurry up and wait

This morning I took Maddie to a Middle School track meet. We arrived at 8:30am and it was a perfect crisp Prescott morning. There were about 100 students there competing and it was a great picture of our lives.

You see, 90% of track is practice and warm ups. This is especially evident during a meet. Students stretch, walk around laughing, playing games, but mostly THEY WAIT!

Isn't it ironic that we spend lots of time practicing and preparing for the "evident", when it takes so little of our time. Perhaps we should work more in the practice and make the most of those times instead of just the event.

Small and Slow

Mark O. said it the other day during a teleconference. I have heard it one other time in the past year, perhaps it was him again, but I read the phrase, "small and slow". In both cases, the point was simple. During the time of Jesus, He was very clear to work small and slow.

While Jesus showed incredible ability to deal with large groups of people and he could even focus down to one man (Zacchaeus) out of a huge crowd, neither of these were the normal plan for the Son of God. His plan was to work "small and slow".

Jesus chose 12 men (small group) and he took over 3 years (slow) to teach, train and invest in them for the mission or purpose. While there is nothing wrong with big groups or even one-on-one time with people, if we are going to be involved in God's plan to reunite people with God, then it will work best in this "small and slow" approach.