The Point

Why are you Here?

2010-01-13T14:07:00.001-05:00

No really, if you've stumbled into my former home, let me apologize for the look, I hope you'll find my new home to be much more informative and interesting, come visit!

www.yourethepoint.com

Stand Alone

2009-09-01T10:09:00.002-04:00

A friend sent me this video, it's a good reminder of the power of words, and the sacrifices young men and women are still making on the other side of the world for you and I to enjoy the comforts we take for granted every day.

Priorities

2009-08-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

I have a lot on my plate. I have a great wife, two incredible kids, lots of friends, a good church, and fun job, along with a body to get into better shape, a growing garden to tend, etc...

I was thinking about it all while driving home from some appointments I had for work last week. My job isn't terribly difficult, it involves getting churches to stop doing some things and start doing others, okay that's a little over simplified, but it's not rocket science. It does, however, require a fair amount of time away from family, and it hits occasional spots where I'm gone more than I'm home, I've recently come out of one such period.

At the same time, I have a new baby, five months old this Sunday, and a three year old with all the zeal and energy I could hope to muster packed into a 40 pound body that is a perpetual whirl of motion during daylight hours. And a wife, a beautiful, smart, and occasionally sassy wife, whose sassiness seems to grow in direct proportion to my time away.

I also have been working to help a local church plant with several projects and have found myself much more intimately involved than originally intended, working on their SERVOLUTION events this Summer, and speaking (poorly) on a Sunday morning last month.

So with all that, it's easy for some very important things to fall by the wayside...to minimize this, I try to spend at least a few minutes every morning focusing on what's important, from general ideas to specific tasks that will make that one day a success.

The things that help make everything else fall into place a little easier for me are pretty simple... If I have done these three things before 9 a.m. then I have a pretty good chance of it being a great day. Those three are... Spend a few minutes with my three year old who is the only other one up before 8, Workout for at least 30 minutes, started P90x this week...OUCH, and read a few chapters of the bible and maybe another book in addition. If I have done those things, time with son, time on body, and time in the word, everything else can happen much more smoothly.

What are the Big Rocks in your life that make everything else easier once you've moved em?

Start a Movement

2009-08-11T11:51:00.008-04:00

I don't remember where I saw this video first, but…It’s AMAZING! Carlos Whitaker wrote a post I cannibalized for this one.
Watch the whole video, you won’t get it if you don’t!

A few things we can learn from this video…
1. One man can start a movement.
2. A movement need not be started by the most skilled.
3. When you look around and nobody else is joining your dance, just keep dancing.
4. When the one guy who joins your movement slowly fades away, keep going.
5. Before you know it, the people joining your movement won’t even know you started it.
6. When your movement takes a life of it’s own, just let go… There will be no stopping it.
7. The very people who are staring at you like your nuts, as you “movement” alone, will be the same people dancing the hardest in the end.

It's time to start your movement, or if you already have and it doesn't seem like anyone has joined the dance...keep dancing!

Magazines worth reading

2009-08-10T10:04:00.000-04:00

I read a lot of books, but those take a certain amount of devotion and time that I don't always have or want to invest in that way. So I also read a lot of magazines. A couple of the things I enjoy about magazines are...

variety-one magazine can give me several different perspectives and topics vs the same time spent in a book...

timeliness-sometimes a book is stale the day it arrives on the shelf, but magazines offer fresh insight on timely issues weekly/monthly/quarterly...

So with that in mind, here are some magazines that keep me up on various issues in culture and the church that I would recommend any ministry leader check out and while some are more geared to persons in a certain role (XP, Youth, etc.) all are worth a skim just to see what others are doing

Relevant--good magazine which gives me a christian take on pop culture

Rolling Stone- it's like Relevant only better and more relevant...also has more cursing and fewer christian ads

Church Executive-this one is pretty dry but always has a nugget or two of administrative wisdom

Church Solutions--similar to above

Time--a good place to get news and an opinion on it

Creation Care--Love the perspective and insight I get from this one, only wish it was published more frequently

Sojourners--intelligent insight on a variety of Justice issues

GOOD--eclectic mix of news, environmentalism, and general thought provoking goodness

Leadership Journal--christian, good, but not as good as...

Harvard Business Review--most expensive thing I read, but least costly...SOLID

REV--all about the reverend in a sometimes irreverent way

strategy+business--similar to (but less expensive than) Harvard Business Review

So there's the dirty dozen at the top of my reading list for church leaders...what other periodical resources are you and your team using???

beginnings

2009-08-07T10:06:00.002-04:00

This is a recent post from my buddy mike. If you want to read more of his musings his link is in the blog roll...part 2 on Volunteers coming soon!

beginnings are often subtle. it is not always easy to realize when it is the end of one season and the beginning of another. usually we look back and say, "that's when it all began." sometimes we resist the beginning of the next and other times we long for it to come. times overlap like the links in a chain. even if we recognize the beginning of the next, there are still remnants of the past.
i think the times of transition are the most difficult. when is it time to let go and take hold?when does the beginning actually begin? i am reminded of Moses' transition from desert dweller to national leader. when did he actually embrace being God's agent of deliverance? did it begin at the burning bush? was it the moment he entered Pharaoh's court? maybe it wasn't until he parted the red sea? it doesn't seem clear to me. maybe it wasn't to Moses either.even the creation story. while it starts with 'in the beginning' we see that creation actually took some time. the light and the sea did not begin at the same time. the plants and animals and adam did not show up on the same day. did the world begin with verse 1 or was it when God was finished and said 'it is good'? then we can debate if each 'day' was a literal 24 hour period or a more hebrew understanding of 7 days or period of time. did the beginning happen in 144-172 hours or was 144-172 billion years? and is the beginning marked by the dawn of humanity? or by the voice that spoke it into existence?
how long was the beginning?how long IS the beginning?how long until we look back and say, "oh . . . that was it right there . . . " ? sometimes we don't get to enjoy the transition times, the overlapping of the seasons, because we are too busy holding on to what is slipping away or maybe too preoccupied with what may be coming. Past/Future fear/hope nostalgia/dread.
i think i'm ready for the beginning, of course it may have already happened.

Church Chat---Volunteers

2009-08-05T07:32:00.000-04:00

I'll be doing these church related posts pretty regularly. As much to process my own thoughts and ideas on issues as anything, so if it doesn't make sense, ignore and move on. If you have some additional experiences, advice, insight to add I'd love to hear it!

Today I'm thinking about Volunteers.

They are an important part of any ministry and for many they are the primary (even ONLY) people involved in the functioning of the church. I talk with about a dozen churches every week and see volunteer importance and focus all over the map.

On the one extreme you have the church that has zero to few volunteers because they rely on paid staff to do everything and on the other side you have the church with no paid staff where without volunteers there wouldn't be chairs on Sunday. Obviously, most churches lie somewhere in between but the importance of a good volunteer base for the healthy and growing church is pretty high on the pyramid of must haves...

It's important to have a good group of dedicated volunteers for a number of reasons...

First, volunteers are the best way to increase the bandwidth (I'll be talking about bandwidth in a post very soon.), the church's ability to do more, be it on Sundays or in their community. It's one thing for the church staff to write a check to Habitat for Humanity, it's an entirely different (better) experience for that same church to follow up the check with a volunteer build day.

Second, volunteers can provide fresh insight and new perspectives on what's important in children's ministry, at the front door, even on the stage. Of course, to gain this perspective you must create a venue for volunteers to share and capture this insight.

Third, volunteering is a natural step in the maturation and leadership development process. If your church has a goal of simply seeing as many people as possible come through the doors, you may develop a user mentality about volunteers and see them merely as a means to an end, but once you realize that the volunteer network is a natural part of the discipleship and maturation process this can change and both the experience and the volunteers will benefit.

We could go on for hours about all the important reasons to have volunteers, but to me, some of the most important are above. The best volunteers and volunteer systems provide for two way communication, growth, and improved experiences for all involved.

Imagine having only paid musicians, greeters, child care workers, speakers, bookkeepers, an entire "company" of people paid to stick around, not because of their passion for the ministry, but because its their job.

Next time we talk volunteers we'll go into some steps you can take to set up a good volunteer system and how to manage, run, and grow it.

Welcome Back!

2009-08-03T09:38:00.003-04:00

As you were probably able to figure out, I took a few weeks off. It was for a variety of reasons, I went on vacation, work has been really busy, I have two rug rats...

While I was resting up for my return to the blogosphere, I spent a little time thinking about giving this place a sharper focus...so with that, here's the deal...

The things I should be spending time focusing on and thinking about are the things I'm going to be hashing out here on this site. Rather than it being a random assortment of videos, stories, quotes, book reviews and the occasional helpful tidbit, the plan is that it will become a more frequent source of somewhat useful information on how to, or more often how not to do the things I find myself spending time on...

which are heavily centered in the family rearing, wife attending to, church related stuff...

So there you have it, if you still have no idea what I just said, I hope you'll check back in the coming days as the posts become more frequent and some discernible direction and trends develop that some of you may find useful, if not for it's great insight, at least for its ability to show you how one wanderer continues to mess things up and be saved by grace and a great wife.

Book Review--Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions

2009-06-23T13:38:00.003-04:00

The book calls itself--A comprehensive introduction to the religions of the world analyzed from a Christian perspective

Nelson's Illustrated Guide to Religions covers more than 200 religions, sects, and cults, most of them ones the reader might encounter on any given day. It is the most complete and up-to-date Christian guide to world religions. Perfect for the student as well as the layperson. Written by leading expert in religions, James A. Beverley. Benefits include: Easy-to-follow format and comprehensive content make this the perfect resource for both scholars and laypersons Reader's knowledge of world religions is expanded, providing a new context for their own faith and world view.

I work with a lot of churches of varying evangelical persuasions, so I was excited to get and read through this book. It does provide a good format and appropriate level of information to give you a conversational grasp of various religions. I also own and have enjoyed ...isms, Understanding Religion, and would offer it as another source of similar info though it is more snapshot where the Illustrated Guide delves a bit deeper. The other book is also written from a more secular viewpoint which offers pros and cons as well.

All in all this is a great resource for your library and I will continue to use it often.

Quote of the Week

2009-06-22T19:27:00.001-04:00

From one of the best comedies of all time...

"I am the gatekeeper of my own destiny, and I will have my glory day in the hot sun...cya."--Nacho Libre

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T06:45:00.000-04:00

I have several important jobs...but one of the most important is being a dad, here is a great example of a fathers love...and a pretty good small groups video too!

Top Three #35

2009-06-09T06:53:00.000-04:00

I'm a sports fan! That's one of the reasons this time of year is so great, Baseball is in full swing, while Basketball and Hockey are into their final rounds of playoff action. So this week I'll be sharing the...

Top Three Professional Sports Franchises

3. Montreal Canadians--yes, my Red Wings have the most championships (soon to be 12) of any US based team, but the 24 Stanley Cup wins by the Canadians is unequaled, they've won 1 out of 4 Stanley cups ever contested!

2. Boston Celtics--So the Lakers may come one closer to their 17 NBA championships this year, the more impressive fact is their winning percentage in finals, .850 vs .483 for the Lakers (which they have a chance to improve to .500 with a win this year!)

1. New York Yankees--As much as it pains me to admit, their record 26 World Championships is the best of any north American sport, we could go into lots here, but the record speaks for itself. They have averaged a World Series appearance every 2.7 years since the first series in 1903.

Honorable Mention--Since I did not name an NFL team above, let's explain a bit...you can see the number of championships listed above, in comparison, the Pittsburgh Steelers won their 6th Super Bowl last year to break a three way tie for the most with Dallas and San Francisco, and each of those three teams won most of their Super Bowls within a single decade 70's for PIT (4 of 6), 80's for SFR (4 of 5) and 90's for DAL (3 of 5).

Quote of the Week

2009-06-08T06:46:00.000-04:00

I pray for my sons...I stumbled on this recently...

"Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory."--Douglas MacArthur

Top Three #34

2009-06-02T05:56:00.000-04:00

I'm becoming a little more intentional with this Blog, trying to focus(sorta) on fewer, more important, topics. Of course there will always be a little nonsense (as anything worth doing should have!), but in my attempts, I've been researching a little as to where readers are coming from so here are the....

Top three traffic sources for The Point Blog

3. Twitter--This channel is growing the fastest and now accounts for nearly twenty percent of visits

2. Direct Traffic--about a quarter of all visitors come directly to the site, so these are apparently repeat visitors, thank you!

1. Facebook--A third of all visitors to my blog click through from facebook.

Honorable Mention-- there are several other sources primarily google keyword searches and clicks from others who have me on their blogroll, let me know if you place me on your blogroll and I will happily return the favor!

Quote of the week

2009-06-01T06:29:00.000-04:00

"I'm really absolutely sure of some things that I don't quite know."--Rob Bell

Sunday Inspiration

2009-05-31T06:31:00.000-04:00

Sundays are generally a great day at our house.

We are involved in a great church, which gets us out in front of the lunch crowds :-)

But sometimes we get off to a slow start and wake up on the wrong side of the bed, if you're having a bad day, watch this...you'll be glad you did, and may even feel a little guilty for your own feeling sorry for yourself...

Thursday Thoughts

2009-05-28T06:56:00.001-04:00

I'm headed home today from Colorado

I leave Tuesday for Florida, week after that California, week after that Florida

I'm ready for a real live vacation

The Detroit Tigers are making me pretty happy lately, I think they've got a shot

I am about to unleash some seriousness on this blog, we'll see how long it lasts

SERVOLUTION

2009-05-27T05:54:00.001-04:00

We're having our first quarterly Saturday Servolution Event on June 20th, and we're getting pretty excited about it!

We have several great volunteer opportunities already lined up and several more in discussion. If you'd like to get involved you can sign up on our church website. And just so you don't think this was an all original idea...

Servolution 2009 Recap from Healing Place Church on Vimeo.

Top Three #33

2009-05-26T05:59:00.000-04:00

In celebration of the end of the eighth season of American Idol (is anyone else getting tired of it?) I decided to do a little research for you and give you a list of...

Top Three most successful Idol contestants based on album sales to date--

3. Clay Aiken--the only American Idol alum to already have a greatest hits album! It was released in March and has sold 3,400 copies, though his total is nearly 5,000,000.

2. Carrie Underwood--Will likely take over the #1 spot with the release of her next album total sales to date are over 9,600,000

1. Kelly Clarkson--The original American Idol! Yes, it helps that she has had the most time since winning, with four albums totalling over10,000,000 in total album sales.

Honorable Mention- Chris Daughtry is closing fast having sold over 4,400,000 copies of his debut album, new album due in July should move him past Clay.

FYI- Five other American Idol contestants have sold over a million albums...winners Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, David Cook, Jordin Sparks, and contestant Kellie Pickler.

Quote of the Week

2009-05-25T06:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day--

"Our great modern Republic. May those who seek the blessings of its institutions and the protection of its flag remember the obligations they impose."--Ulysses S. Grant

"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."--Douglas MacArthur

Why?

2009-05-23T05:28:00.000-04:00

It's a question I ask a lot. So I thought it would be worth giving an answer...

Why do I have advertising links on my blog? Because Google targets the ads in the boxes based on related topics and items, and when you click, I get money, BUT when I get money, I pass EVERY penny on to charity.

So far it hasn't been much (less than $200), but every time you read this blog and click on one of the advertising banners, you are providing mosquito nets for African Children, homes for Cambodian families, and food for Haitian orphans.

Just another reminder that we CAN do good, even when no one is looking...but if you look, we can do even greater good!

Who's doing your Watering?

2009-05-22T06:05:00.000-04:00

I resonate with the first few verses of First Corinthians Chapter 3...

I'm often very carnal, and need to be preached to as such, but occasionally I'm more in Paul's role of speaking to the "church people" who must still be talked to/at as carnal humanity.

I spend a few hours a week helping in a church plant in one of the most overchurched towns in America, Cleveland, TN. And countless more hours talking with other people at various stages of the church planting journey, from pre-launch to several years in to a "successful" church plant.

As I was reading today, I fell into a couple words I've often thrown away, verse six"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase."

A few translations use growth instead of increase, but this is not one of those verses that gets dramatically different if you use NIV,KJV,ESV, etc...

No, it wasn't my first time noticing the verse, there is a biblical example of church planting there! It's ultimately all about God! But I had never really paid attention to those two words in the middle, Apollos watered.

In most of my conversations with church planters there is lots of talk about me this and God that, but it's a rare occasion that we start talking about their "Apollos" the person(s) that will water the work.

In order to do the watering this person(s) need a few basic skills--

3. They must have desire--Few things could be worse than having to use the laborer who needs to be constantly coaxed into helping...if they don't want to be involved, you are better off focusing your energies elsewhere. There may be a way to motivate that desire up a few notches, but if its something you are spending lots of time and energy on, look elsewhere.

2. They must have water!--In any organization, especially at the beginning we'll sometimes accept any help we can get, but this can often choke and slow long term progress because those given responsibility don't have the skill necessary to complete the task...it can even make things worse because now you're focusing attention away from your primary objectives onto fixing the mistakes that these eager water sprinklers made. One way to prevent this is by spending more time up front in the training and equipping before you send them outside with their water pale to get to work.

1. They must have direction--some need more than others, but you'd never just give someone a bucket of water and say go put this outside if you had a specific place that needed watered; tell them and show them, but be careful not to micro-manage, this will not allow them to come up with better solutions than you ever would have.

It seems that anything worth planting is worth watering, so who is watering your plant, and what are you doing to make sure they succeed? If you focus on planting and equipping others to water, God can cover his part!

Thursday Thoughts

2009-05-21T05:46:00.004-04:00

My family has been visiting my parents in Louisiana this week and I'm joining them today for the long weekend. Here is what's on my list of to-do's...

-See Mike the Tiger--Alexander cannot be in Baton Rouge for a week without visiting the big cat, Benjamin will meet him for the first time and my wife has prepared for the introduction by making sure Ben has a nice Tennessee Vols outfit to wear.

-Ease my Cafe du Monde withdrawals--must make at least one, preferably three or more trips to Cafe du Monde for Chickory Coffee and Beignets...I'll take pictures!

-NOT take any work related calls for five days--this one is tougher for me than it sounds. I don't do vacation well...heck, I'm making a to-do list!

-Visit Healing Place Church--I love what Dino and his team do. Their focus on being a Healing Place for a Hurting World is a great one line mission statement for the church, and Dino's book Servolution tells their story well and may even inspire you to start your own Servolution initiative.

-Do lots of important stuff--like sleep in, play with my kids, go swimming, and have a generally great time!

What Your Non-Profit must share--REPOST

2009-05-20T06:32:00.000-04:00

Saw this yesterday and it's solid!

What absolutely must go on your home page
Posted by katya on Tue, May 19, 2009

If you’re a nonprofit, here’s my list:

1. Something that tugs the heartstrings - an arresting image, a bold statement, the start of an incredible story

2. A 2-second statement that sums up who you are and what you do so that anyone glancing at the page gets it right away

3. Clear, intuitive navigation that is organized according to the brain of the people who come to your website and NOT your org chart

4. A quick case or link to a case for why you’re THE organization to support

5. A way to capture people whose interest has been captured (a great email signup that entices people to provide their email address)

6. A big donate button for people ready to give

7. A third-party endorsement (ratings from Charity Navigator or a testimonial from someone)

8. Something that shows where the money goes or links to information on where donations go (this can be part of #4)

Top Three #32

2009-05-19T06:21:00.001-04:00

I travel a lot, I try to be responsible/sustainable/green/eco-friendly, these two are tough to reconcile...

Top Three Environmentally Friendly ways to travel

3. Public Transportation--This actually includes bus, light rail, train, etc. Increasingly we are seeing these move to CNG and even electric (the buses in downtown Chattanooga are electric!) While Buses obviously use more fuel than a car, they use far less on a PER passenger basis.

2. Walking--Yep, the good ole left right left is pretty tough to beat for earth friendliness, not to mention that it's much better for YOU.\

1. Bicycle-- Why is it better than walking? Because you can travel at least four times as far in the same amount of time and still produce no emissions.

Honorable Mention--Ok, so what about those longer trips and business meetings far far away (like downtown), for those I'd recommend train, WEBEX, or the revolutionary new invention...CARPOOL

Thoughts--Is that client, congregation, conference attendee, etc, really going to be that much better off for you being there face to face? Sometimes the answer is absolutely YES, but more often than we currently admit, they could get just as much from our virtual presence and follow up as from our in the flesh presence.

Quote of the Week

2009-05-18T00:55:00.000-04:00

"Preach the Gospel always. Use words if necessary." - St. Francis of Assisi

Things that annoy me about Worship Leaders

2009-05-16T06:03:00.001-04:00

I was inspired to create this after reading a recent post by Chico...

I chuckled as I read the list because it was all so true, but then it also made me think of the things that have annoyed or frustrated me with various worship leaders over the years. I get the chance to sit in a lot of services of various style, but here are a few that have stood out to me...

--The Diva, you know the one, they go off on tangents of vocal drama that leave everyone watching in disbelief at what's happening...not in a good way

--The Rockstar, this guy usually shows up with a hangover...ya he's cool, but not THAT cool

--The Employee, it's obvious to everyone in the building that they're only here for the paycheck.

--The Choir Director, do we really need you to turn your back to us to direct the choir... really?

--The Teacher, I appreciate you helping me out by telling me the words before we repeat them in song, but they are on the screens and I can read...

--The Wanna be Preacher, that part comes AFTER you're done, so please get back to singing and stop with your sermonettes between verses...can I get an Amen

--The Copycat, yes Chris Tomlin is great, but you're not Chris Tomlin so please stop trying to sing "How Great Is Our God" in his voice... EVERY week.

--The Pained, sometimes it's the Bassist or Drummer, almost always the electric guitar and keyboard, the faces they make are AMAZING, makes me wanna offer them some Pepto...

--The Emo, enough with the hair and SKINNY JEANS!

Thursday Thoughts

2009-05-14T16:56:00.002-04:00

I have had a few great meetings with great ministries the last few days, I really needed that!

I was super excited to check out the Flourish Conference at Crosspointe Church, which billed itself as the first conference on Creation Care...some really good stuff, but all in all a little disappointing. So much to be done!

I am in the midst of Minivan shopping for my wife. I bought her one a few years ago and she HATED it, now that we have another son she's decided she's ready...we'll see!

I read Servolution, Dino Rizzo's new book...great title!

I am looking forward to date night this weekend with the Mrs., think we'll see Angels and Demons!

I'm excited about some upcoming events at Lifepoint... Brickhouse series this Sunday, One Prayer series in June, a great Servolution event June 20th, and Lookouts Baseball for the benefit of the Caring Place on July 25th, it's gonna be a busy summer!

Book Review--Helping People Win at Work

2009-05-13T06:25:00.000-04:00

As many of you know by now, I'm a reader...I have read an average of about 50 books a year my entire adult life. One of my goals this year was actually to read LESS...so far, that's not working out too well, I'm on pace for 40something, I had hoped to finish only around 25...

I was unaware of my latest read until last week when I saw a dozen copies on my Boss's desk and hoped aloud that I would be getting a copy, turns out they weren't for me, but he was gracious enough to find me one...on the condition that I give him some feedback.

Since I needed to give him feedback, and since I'm trying to do better at taking notes for retention, I've decided to share some basic impressions here.

Helping People Win at Work by Ken Blanchard and Garry Ridge, came out a week ago.

It's a bit of a twist on the average Managing for Success and Servant Leadership ideas that have been popular of late. I found this book to be high on inspiration and quotables, without a whole lot of new info, they talk Tribes, SMART goals, Hierarchy of needs, Vision/Mission, etc...really felt a little all over the place.

It's written by two authors and they split the book by each taking chapter sections, I found Garry's info to be much more fresh and applied, while everything I read from Ken left me with a Dejavu feeling...

The highlights for me--

-The concept of "Don't Mark my Paper, help me get an A"--Seemed simple enough, until I walked that through to execution and started to get a headache at how you undo the age old ranking and ordering of performance...

-Is your Company "Partnering for Performance, or using performance reviews as alarms to send in the seagull manager"?

-Effective Performance Review System= Planning, Execution, Review and Learning...spend a lot of time time planning ("Don't just do something, sit there"), and make the review and learning a frequent and ongoing piece rather than an annual event.

-Tribes vs. Teams--Yes, this seems to be a bit "borrowed" from Seth Godin, but that's the sincerest form, of flattery right?

-Rank Ordering your values--I liked this idea, we all do it whether we think about it or not, but to put them in rank order is great. For instance, Our corporate values may include Doing the Right thing and Profitability, but profits never come before doing the right thing. "Life is about value conflicts. That means sometimes you can't honor two values at the same time."

Good Quotes from the book--

"At Best Leadership is a Partnership"

"All Good performance starts with clear goals"

"Don't save up feedback until somebody fails"

"A tribe is a place you belong; a team is something you play on once in a while."

"The real key to organizational vitality is operational leadership."

Summary--

Easy, fast read, with some good concepts and a little more fluff than I care for, which is surprising since it's less than 160 pages. I'd recommend the Intro and Chapter One to nearly everyone, my recommendation gets lighter the farther you go. If you don't read much in the way of leadership, this would be a good intro, as they discuss many ideas at a high level.

Top Three #31

2009-05-12T05:50:00.000-04:00

My employer is in the process of changing the phones we use, we've been using some form of Treo smartphone for over three years with varying degrees of success and usefulness. So here are the...

Top Three Smartphones by sales (Q1, 2009)

3. Blackberry Storm--this is the touch face Blackberry that was supposed to give Iphone a run for its money, it's been getting mixed reviews.

2. Iphone-- launched a niche, and catapulted AT&T to new heights in subscriber growth. I have one, I love it...BUT, not a big fan of AT&T coverage, I'd rate them behind Verizon and Sprint in that area.

1. Blackberry Curve--this is the phone that our company has chosen as the Treo replacement, I'm looking forward to getting it and comparing the pros and cons vs the Iphone.

Honorable Mention--Blackberry Pearl...so it's pretty clear that Blackberry dominates the Smartphone space...

More info...According to The NPD Group, consumer sales of smartphones to US consumers represented 23% of all handset sales in Q4 2008 compared to just 12% in Q4 2007. Led by the release of iPhone 3G at $199, the average price for a smartphone fell 23% from $216 in Q4 2007 to $167 in Q4 2008. While half of smartphones on the market now sold with touch screens, 70% of all models instead offer QWERTY keyboards. 66% of smartphones now use 3G networks, compared to just 46% a year ago. 52% of smartphone buyers purchased an accessory at the time of their phone purchases, compared to just 41% among all other phone buyers.

Quote of the Week

2009-05-11T03:45:00.000-04:00

"Moral Indignation is Jealousy with a Halo"--H.G. Wells

Wednesday Ramble

2009-05-06T06:19:00.000-04:00

I left my house at 4:45 am...baby was awake

I think I'm gonna start working on a M.A. in Theology, probably wait til next year...new baby

Travel schedule has been pretty hectic the last month...not sure I see an end soon...missing baby

Starting to think about an RV again...more time with baby

I like the new blog look, black consumes less power...better earth for baby

Gone from home til Saturday night...Baby dedication on Sunday.

Top Three #30

2009-05-05T06:30:00.002-04:00

In Celebration of Cinco de Mayo and the Swine Flu that originated in our neighbor to the south... and since we recently had a new baby and seem to always have a couple friends who are pregnant, I thought I would check out the

Top Baby names---

This information is from the United States Social Security Administration and generally lags a few months, here is the most up to date info available...

3. Ethan/Emma-- The E's have it

2. Michael/Isabella--Isabella was our pick if our most recent addition had been a girl...

1. Jacob/Emily--I know several little Jacob's in diapers

Honorable mention--the fourth placers are Joshua and Ava...so there you go...

Quote of the Week

2009-05-04T04:43:00.000-04:00

“put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems”--Jim Collins

5daysinmay.com

2009-05-01T13:09:00.001-04:00

I want to be a part of the change, I want to help, I need to help, I can't do it alone...

WE can make a difference, WE can be a part of the solution, WE can change the world...

Join www.5daysinMay.com now to help!

Visit Shawn Woods post on the topic with more details HERE.

Lessons from a Half Marathon

2009-04-29T06:56:00.002-04:00

I ran the Country Music Half Marathon this past Saturday...

It was very challenging. 13.1 miles, felt like mostly uphill...

Soreness persists, Blisters...

Some things are better in theory than Practice

Most things are easier when done with help/friends/teammates

Sometimes going downhill, though easier at the time, can cause more long term damage than the uphill climb

It's always a good idea to prepare, if you don't you will regret it, maybe not at right away...but eventually

Technology can only take you so far

Starting is easy, it's finishing what you start that gets tough

Top Three #29

2009-04-28T06:58:00.000-04:00

I'm a sports fan.

Here are the...

Three Best sports...

3. Soccer (or Football to the rest of the world)-- The sport of my youth, since I grew up in Germany. Fast paced, lots of work, run, run, run.

2. American Football--I specifically prefer the college game for watching, but its tough to beat playing on a fall day, of course you could die...always a nice risk.

1. Baseball--Outdoors, teamwork, America's Pastime...Go Tigers!

Honorable Mention--Golf and Tennis because they can both be played outdoors and measure individual performance against others.

In case this list is odd or infuriating to you, I'll be back to a more objective Top Three next week...

Book Review--The Noticer

2009-04-27T12:20:00.000-04:00

I didn't really know what to expect with this one. I was pleasantly surprised.

Andy Andrews newest book, The Noticer, which comes out Tuesday but is available now HERE. Is one of those books that feels familiar and new all at the same time. I enjoyed it from cover to cover and also enjoyed how it mixed some of the best elements from books by authors like Og Mandino and Paulo Coehlo with the style of almost being multiple connected short stories.

The book can easily be read in a single sitting...I did it, but may best be savored by taking it slowly, one story(chapter) at a time. It's full of inspiration and insight, like "I think more people would want to go to heaven if they weren't afraid it would be like church when they got there."

This was my first introduction to Mr. Andrews but definitely inspired me to check out some of his other work!

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy and inspirational read about how what you do, say, and think can impact not only your life but the lives of countless others.

Quote of the Week

2009-04-27T03:50:00.000-04:00

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on"--Winston Churchill

Running and cornbread?

2009-04-25T06:26:00.000-04:00

As you read this I'll be trudging along working my way through the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville...13.1 miles of fun!

Afterwards I'll be stopping by the 13th annual National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, TN, with the family, where we hope to catch a glimpse of Paula Deen and sample some of the best cornbread in the world...may even pick up a new Lodge Skillet, which have been made right here in TN since the 1800's.

I'll let you know how the run and the afternoon festivities turn out...get outside and have some fun!

Food for thought

2009-04-24T11:35:00.001-04:00

Hmmm

2009-04-23T06:09:00.000-04:00

I read this earlier in the week and loved it...I hope you enjoy... BLUF--It's never a bad time to launch a good thing.

Green-Marketing Revolution Defies Economic Downturn
Sustainable-Product Sales Rise as Eco-Friendliness Goes Mainstream and Value Players Join the Trend
By Jack Neff Published: April 20, 2009
Based on number of new package-goods products bearing claims such as "sustainable," "environmentally friendly" and "eco-friendly."Source: Datamonitor's Product Launch Analytics
BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Green marketing is turning out to be surprisingly recession-proof.
Datamonitor shows 458 launches so far in 2009 of package-goods products that claim to be sustainable, environmentally friendly or "eco-friendly." If that pace holds all year, it will triple the number of green launches last year, which in turn was more than double the number in 2007. Seventh Generation CEO Jeffrey Hollender said his company's sales were up 50% last year and 20% in March year over year despite Clorox, Church & Dwight and now SC Johnson entering the space. "The good news is that in general these products are faring better than most categories," he said. "A lot of people would be desperate to have 5% growth."
Related Story:State-Parks Group Thrives in Recession Consumers are still buying sustainable lines despite their higher cost. Nielsen Co. data show sales growth of organic food at 5.6% year over year in December from a year ago, though that's down from the double-digit pace of years past, and its SPINS tracking service showed sales at natural-food stores up 10.9% to $4.2 billion last year. Though growth slowed in the fourth quarter, it was still more than 7% in December, far healthier than the rates at even top-performing grocery retailers such as Walmart or Costco.
"It looks like this green trend is going to survive the recession," said Tom Vierhile, general manager at Datamonitor's Product Launch Analytics.
"If you go back 10, 20, 30 years, other green movements ultimately have had the air taken out of them by recessions," said Aric Melzel senior brand manager at Kimberly-Clark's Scott paper company. "This one is acting differently than we've seen in the past. In looking at national tracking studies, it does appear that this time the green mind-set is very much being more solidified."
'Respectful stewards'Mr. Vierhile's read is that the interest in green products has reached beyond the vanguard of eco-enthusiasts. Indeed, Information Resources Inc. research found sales of green products growing fastest in the 52 weeks ended Jan. 25 in a predominantly Hispanic segment labeled "respectful stewards" and a predominantly white-male segment labeled "proud traditionalists." Sales actually remained flat in the "eco-centric" segment with the highest interest in green issues.
Part of the secret to green products' survival, Mr. Vierhile said, is manufacturers' desire to save on commodity costs. What's also helped is retailers -- particularly Walmart -- furthering the cause by working to keep green products affordable, as well as the entry of private-label and value-brand marketers into the category.
The test of whether green can really go mainstream is shaping up with a new offering from Scott: toilet paper, paper towels, napkins and wipes made from 40% to 80% recycled content. The launch is from a $2 billion-plus global value brand that reaches 41 million households, or one in three U.S. consumers. You can't get more mainstream than that.
The premise is that consumers don't have to sacrifice either performance or price to make a positive environmental impact, said Mr. Melzel. The launch springs from research showing Scott's value-minded consumers still want to minimize the environmental impact of their products: 86% said they're interested and 41% said they're very interested in products with recycled content. Mr. Melzel said he believes recycled products can become a $500 million business, or about 5% of the $10 billion retail paper-products business in the U.S., up from less than 1% today.
Walmart is looking to go Scott one better with White Cloud private-label toilet paper from 100% recycled fiber. And while the retailer hasn't been beating the sustainability drum in its PR efforts as loudly as in the past, it has put some substantial weight behind its Earth Month marketing and merchandising efforts, billed as bigger than last year, with ads from Martin, Richmond, Va., touting 10 green products for under $10 and rollbacks on products such as Clorox Green Works and Procter & Gamble Co.'s Tide Coldwater.
Cleaners growK-C, which this month is launching Huggies Pure & Natural, positioned as having more natural ingredients and post-consumer content than other products, found one sure sign of consumer interest during pre-launch buzz building. When Edelman, Chicago, reached out to 500 mommy bloggers about the product line, they generated close to 200,000 requests for samples, said Huggies Senior Brand Manager Tim Abate.
Sales of water-filtration devices and filters -- which have been positioned as a more eco-friendly alternative to bottled water by Clorox Co.'s Brita and Procter & Gamble Co.'s Pur in recent years -- soared 22.2% and 15.2%, respectively, in the four weeks ended March 22, according to Information Resources Inc. data from Deutsche Bank, continuing the torrid double-digit pace they've been on the past two years despite the recession and relatively high price points.
Green cleaners, too, continue to grow as more mainstream manufacturers, such as SC Johnson with its recently launched Nature's Source lineup, pile into the category. Clorox Green Works became the best-selling natural-positioned cleaning brand during its first year last year, said Jessica Buttimer, global domain leader for the brand, and roughly tripled an already robust green-cleaner-category growth rate of 35% in 2006 and 2007 to 108% in 2008. "In recent months, with the economic downturn, we are seeing some slowing growth in certain product categories where we've lapped our launch," Ms. Buttimer said. "But in categories such as natural liquid dish soap, growth continues to be strong at 143% [for the 13 weeks ended Feb. 22, relative to total dish-soap growth of 7%]."
Seventh Generation's Mr. Hollender said he does believe bigger players in the organic- and natural-products space are seeing their growth slow. An informal survey he did of five players in the $150 million to $500 million sales range have seen year-over-year growth in the single digits this year vs. double-digit growth last year -- but all were still growing, he said.
With more mainstream marketers expanding into more categories, Mr. Hollender said, every consumer-package-goods category will soon have some kind of green alternative. "Increasingly, it will be a choice between light green and dark green," he said.
Four tips for green marketers1. Combine environmental with economic sustainability.Consumers define sustainability more broadly than the environmental concerns marketers mainly have tended to focus on, and they care more about social and economic issues such as poverty, employment and health care more than environmental concerns by a substantial margin, according to research by shopper-marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi X. The agency is pitching the idea that green marketing is tired but that "blue marketing," which encompasses environmental with other social causes, will work better.
2. Retailer support matters. With 298 different environmental certifications for consumer brands, consumers often don't know what to believe regarding green claims, said Curtis Munk, VP-insights for shopper marketing at Saatchi X. As a result, they look to retailers to be the arbiters, placing the most trust in more-green-positioned retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, but also some others, such as Walmart, that have been working hard to burnish their green credentials.
3. Opportunities remain. Research by Nielsen's concept-testing service Bases shows that environmentally focused Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability consumers have above-average purchase intent for personal care, pet products, and refrigerated, shelf-stable and frozen foods but perceive only average current product availability in those categories.
4. Address skepticism about price and quality more than the actual green claims. Bases found more than 80% of consumers in all categories—including 89% of those most inclined to buy green but also 80% of those unconcerned about green claims—found green claims completely or somewhat believable. Only 9% to 16% of consumers said they believe green products aren't as green as claimed—fewer than half the proportion who said they completely believe such claims. Yet a vast majority of consumers said they believe green products cost more and don't perform as well as others.

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T05:53:00.002-04:00

This is the most important day in one of the more important weeks of the year! Happy Earth Day, God Bless, etcetera etcetera...in celebration I think I will take a very short shower, eat local food, recycle my waste and try to be an all around better person than I usually am...and then, I'll try to improve on that MORE tomorrow!

Top Three #28

2009-04-21T05:57:00.001-04:00

Having a five week old son, I'm quickly becoming a diaper guru...not in the changing of them...as I have a bit of a phobia for all things poo (even Winnie makes me nervous)...but more in the buying of them as that has become my contribution to the diapering of our younger son...

I also happen to be an increasingly obnoxious Greeniac (that might just catch on!) so when my attempts to get us(my wife) to use cloth diapers collapsed in a pile of rubble, I made it my mission to find the...

Top Three earth friendly disposable diapers (yes i realize calling any disposable diaper earth friendly is a stretch, but it helps me sleep at night)

3.Nature Boy and Girl--very new to the US market, created originally in Sweden, the ones we bought were made in Mexico...

2. Tushies--Made in the US. Gel free, good fit, natural cotton filler...if you had told me a few years ago that I would publicly write of the benefits of cotton filler in diapers I would have laughed at you...HARD

1.Earth's Best Tender Care Plus--My wife really likes these and I like that they are
Made with non-chlorine bleached materials that reduce dioxin pollution released into the environment , Made with natural absorbent materials such as corn and wheat-annually renewable resources that reduce the use of petro-chemicals
Non-woven inner and outer cover, made with plant based renewable resources.

Honorable Mention--The hybrid Gdiaper is very interesting at it utilizes a cloth shell and a disposable liner that biodegrades much faster than most others. The only diaper we've tested that my wife refuses to use again is the Seventh Generation brand, probably the most widely available of all the "eco-conscious" but poop i mean poor performance and bad fit made it a no go for us.

On a side note, the best place I have found to buy these is drugstore.com...though Diapers.com also has a reasonable selection and both offer fast shipping.

Final thought...HUGGIES is getting into the game, I just signed up for a free sample at
http://www.huggiespureandnatural.com/FreeSample.aspx

Quote of the Week---it's a twofer

2009-04-20T03:13:00.002-04:00

Since tax day and some tea part fun all happened last week I thought these quotes from a pretty slick dude seemed appropriate...

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies."

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield, and government to gain ground."

--Thomas Jefferson

Interesting isn't it....

Buckle up

2009-04-18T06:22:00.001-04:00

Our Church just came out of a series called Pause, one of my favorite books is The Rest of God.

Working through my schedule I just realized I have something going on almost every week the rest of the year...

upcoming week...Christian Leadership Alliance conference, Atlanta, GA
weekend--Country Music Half Marathon and National Cornbread Festival
following week...Association of Related Churches conference, Raleigh, NC
weekend--camping trip with Alexander
First week of May...trip to California for work
weekend--Mother's Day and Benjamin's dedication

then there's a trip to Florida for work, a much needed vacation to the Outer Banks a couple more trips to California, a few birthdays, conferences, and a wedding.

It could get bumpy...

Guest Blogger

2009-04-17T06:22:00.001-04:00

I've donated by space in the blogosphere to the re post of an interesting post by the General Overseer(head honcho/big cheese) of the Church of God, Cleveland, TN, today. Here is a link to his stuff.

What's interesting about this post is that I love the reference to church in a bar and the implications it could have to a denomination founded out of the holiness movement of the 19th century...

Jesus At Matthew's House! Prayer in the Pub
Posted by: Raymond in Prayer Stories, Prayer Evangelism, Global Focus.
Apr 12
2009
Joel News reports on happenings around the world, often related to prayer.

Most people who know Europe, don't see the In the Netherlands as spiritually ripe place. But there is a fire-ball set of Christians there who refuse to give up. The hardness of the area has emboldened them. And the distance between the church and the culture has forced them to meet the lost on their own turf.
A growing network of Christians in the nation now share Jesus with people through the ministry of healing. One of them is Marjan Spijkman. Last month, she organized an evening on 'miracles and healings.' Not unusual, you think?
What was different was the location. She didn't conduct her meetings at a local church. That would not have reached the people she wanted to reach. She conducted her meetings in a local pub right downtown.
"Nine people, mainly women from the neighborhood, showed up," she reported. Nine people - and God. Remember when Jesus went to Matthew's house and scandalized the Pharisees? Well, Jesus is back at Matthew's house again.
Marjan said, "God was powerfully present!" Healings were reported from a variety of conditions - rheumatism, emotional wounds, urinary problems, and other hurts. "One woman, who was nearly deaf, could hear again, to the surprise of her daughter and the other guests." Marjan noted, "These women have a reputation in their neighborhood for being hard and bitter. But Jesus Christ touched them, they cried in our arms. Afterwards two women applied for an introductory course about Jesus. The owners of the pub invited us back and suggested that we would use the larger room in the pub, as they are expecting more people to come."
The gift of prayer, offered to unbelievers or skeptics, in places of darkness, may be the greatest door of hope we can place in front of lost people. When we do, God shows himself alive to these people. The effect is so different than trying to argue and rationally meet their objections to the gospel. When God's loves people so powerfully, they are suddenly open to truth they previously resisted.
Give the gift of prayer!

Book Review--Collapse of Distinction

2009-04-16T00:17:00.000-04:00

I just finished my copy of the new Thomas Nelson publishing book by Scott McKain, Collapse of Distinction (Stand out and move up while your competition fails). I must say I was into it right from the title and front cover art...

The ideas are crisp and fresh and the writing style is definitely solid. Perhaps my favorite feature is the executive summary at the end of each chapter that make the book worthwhile even for those who may not have time to sit down and study it cover to cover (but a cover to cover study and reread are more than worthwhile).

I don't want to spoil it for you as it truly would be a worthy addition to the library of anyone interested in marketing, competition, and creating brand value, but it essentially chronicles how we ended up in the mess of sameness we find ourselves in today and how you and your brand/company/church/etc can create unique value and awareness to stand out from the crowd and win the customer while everyone else is competing WITH each other rather than FOR the customer.

Perhaps my favorite of many concepts...Don't Emulate, Create!

You can order your copy HERE!

The Tax Man Cometh

2009-04-15T06:44:00.001-04:00

I'm not a big fan of taxes...in fact for a long time I considered myself a straight line libertarian, leave me alone, I'll keep my money, you keep yours...

My views are changing some...

But today, ready or not, your returns are due for 2008...so to my wildly conservative friends, have fun at your Tea Parties, I may celebrate with 15% off at P.F.Changs!!!

Top Three #27

2009-04-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

Since I just spent a few days in California with the family which included a trip to Disneyland...I started wondering...What are the...

Top Three most visited Theme Parks in North America

3. Disneyland, CA--went for the second time last week and I prefer it to the bigger, more expensive and crowded Florida version known as the Magic Kingdom...yep, that just happened.

2. Universal Studios, FL--My favorite theme park, which also includes my favorite ride...Spiderman!

1. Disneyworld, FL--Magic Kingdom is the most visited park in the country, followed by Disneyland and then the other parks at Disneyworld...Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.

Honorable Mention-- The fourth most visited park in America may be my older son's favorite... Seaworld, we've been to two of the three, they exist in San Antonio, TX, San Diego, CA, and Orlando, FL.

Quote of the Week...

2009-04-13T03:47:00.000-04:00

Anniversary Edition...my wife and I celebrated six years of wedded bliss yesterday...I often have trouble going to sleep, I think I know why...

"When you are in Love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams"--
Dr. Seuss

Top Three #26

2009-04-07T06:35:00.000-04:00

If you read this before four p.m. eastern, I'm on a plane...so with that, I thought I'd share the three largest U.S. airlines by total flights...

3. United--the friendly skies...my first airline of choice when I was flying with some regularity in college, they lost me after a particularly long snow delay(think days) over a decade ago.

2. American--The largest for many years until recently, I have flown them quite a bit with no complaints...not a big fan of either of their biggest hubs though, DFW and ORD

1. Delta--my airline of choice due to the ease of going just about anywhere out of ATL

Honorable mention--US Airways is the fourth largest airline thanks to the merger of northwest eliminating them from the list, I haven't flown them much but I do like their CLT hub.

Quote of the Week

2009-04-06T03:43:00.000-04:00

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."-MLK Jr.

How to improve your fuel economy

2009-04-02T04:32:00.000-04:00

As those who have read for a while know, I drive a good bit for work, and I'm a bit of a fuel economy freak, I get upwards of 34 mpgs on the hwy when I'm careful, when I'm not it can sink into the high twenties.

I'm able to increase this by 10%-15% by keeping my tires properly inflated, being conscientious of acceleration (not doing it too hard), and trying to coast into stops and maintain relatively stable speeds as much as possible. For those of you looking to increase fuel economy, it helps to have a more fuel efficient vehicle, here are the tops for the model year according to actual observed fuel economy according to consumer reports.

Toyote Prius

smart

Honda Civic Hybrid

Scion xd manual

Camry Hybrid

Honda Fit sport manual

Mini Cooper manual

Toyota Yaris

Volkswagen Jetta TDI

I left off # ten since the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is now available that would put it near the top of the list...and the government backs the warranty! :-)

Wednesday Ramble

2009-04-01T06:36:00.000-04:00

Getting ready to start up the travel schedule again...

Texas tomorrow

California next week

Georgia and North Carolina before the end of the month...

Really have enjoyed the time with the family the last few weeks

A little behind on my reading right now...looks like vacation in July will be catch-up time

Finally got a new sensor for my Nike+ time to get the little avatar up and going again

Church is going well...the best is yet to come

Top Three #25

2009-03-31T06:53:00.002-04:00

I listen to more worship music than the average bear, this week I thought I would share my current favorites...

Top Three (of four) Worship Songs According to Jeremy Moore

4. Breathe on Me--Todd Fields, powerful song and an awesome prayer.

3. From the Inside Out--Hillsong, they've been adding to the experience for a couple decades now and I still anxiously await their new projects every time.

2. Glory of it All--David Crowder Band, they have some of the most original arrangements in the genre right now, and I enjoy it!

1. Prayer of St. Francis--Trinity Worship, old and powerful words...

Honorable Mention(s)--Jesus Paid it All--Kristian Stanfill and Hookers & Robbers-- Charlie Hall

A few others that I enjoy as inadvertant worship music---

I'm Yours-- Jason Mraz

Life on a Chain-- Pete Yorn

Yep...that just happened...

Quote of the Week

2009-03-30T06:52:00.001-04:00

"What we do in Life, Echoes in Eternity"---Maximus, The Gladiator

Earth Hour!

2009-03-28T05:44:00.002-04:00

Things I'm learning having two kids

2009-03-26T06:40:00.001-04:00

it's harder than it looks

i love kids

little boys are awesome!

alexander has a very strong personality

having a mother in law around can be quite helpful

breast feeding seems very inconvenient

spongebob is still just as annoying as it was when I only had one kid.

MAC vs PC

2009-03-25T06:42:00.000-04:00

As some of you know, I recently bought two new laptops. A Macbook Air for myself and a HP running 64 bit Vista for my wife.

Since I am now a little more educated on the two, I felt like sharing a few of my opinions and perspectives.

Obviously, the size of the Air is great and its also far more powerful than a similar weighing (3lbs),but smaller screened netbook that are becoming popular, of course the price is also about triple...

Since I'm a pretty new mac user, it is taking some getting used to, and I do miss the ability to do some excel spreadsheets occasionally when the mood hits. Creating word docs is simple and that has been a pleasant surprise, the remote use of other CD drives works better in theory than practice so I'm going to get an external drive for loading software and copying CD's to my iTunes library. Battery life has been good, I get three hours easy and upwards of four depending on what I'm doing, it also conserves great in hibernate/standby mode.

As for my wife's new PC laptop, it's about 5.1 pounds and feels more than twice as thick, but it also cost about half and has three times the hard drive space, a faster processor, and double the RAM. I haven't used it a ton, but enough to understand why some people aren't fans of Vista, though she hasn't had any trouble with it crashing or freezing. It also runs louder and hotter than my virtually silent mac. I do like the media card slots, extra ports, and built in cd drive, and of course, the price!

All in all, I'm very happy with my Mac, but I'm not yet a fanatic shouting its praises from rooftops and for the average user, a PC still makes the most sense from a cost vs. benefit standpoint...BUT the PC's don't look nearly as cool sitting at Starbucks sipping their five dollar coffees as us mac users!

Top Three #24

2009-03-24T06:40:00.001-04:00

I've been working on a few projects lately that have caused me to do some research on places with great poverty and need. So this weeks list is

Top Three Places I'm going to try to change for the better

3. Cambodia--This country has been torn by war and poverty for generations, now there are some great efforts to alleviate the suffering.

2. Rwanda--Africa is by far the poorest continent in the world, and Rwanda is one of the poorest countries on the continent. A couple projects I like are this and this, I'm also sponsoring a child in Rwanda through here.

1. Cleveland, TN--yes, it's not in the same league of suffering as the others, but wherever you are, there are people who need help, start here!

Honorable Mentions- Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and New Orleans, LA is a special city to me.

QUOTE of the WEEK

2009-03-23T06:39:00.001-04:00

Since I now have two boys and am the oldest of three myself, I decided to go looking for quotes about boys, I found many good ones, this week I like this one...

"A Boy is...
Trust with dirt on its face,
Beauty with a cut on its finger,
Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair,
and the hope of the future with
A frog in its pocket."

Author: Unknown

ADD Fishing

2009-03-21T05:16:00.001-04:00

Part of my paternity leave duties include entertaining Alex and keeping him out of mommy's way and off her nerves, that was the reason for a little road trip this past Friday morning.
Alexander, Papo (my grandfather), Robbie (my brother), and I all went fishing yesterday.
I am not a fisherman, sitting on a dock or in a boat waiting for hours to catch something slimy that doesn't want to be around me, then kill, clean, and eat it have never been my idea of a good time.

This was different!

First, one of my favorite fish to eat, is rainbow trout.

Second, being able to catch them within 20 minutes of my house is nice.

Third, throwing a line in, to almost immediately be reeling in a nice fish is my kind of fun!

Fourth, to see the looks on Alex and Papo's face was worth the trip!

I explained it to some people later in the afternoon as the perfect fishing trip for someone with ADD, no waiting, just action. Maybe this is part of why ADD even exists, our society has become one of instant gratification.

I chuckle as I write, watch TV, hold my newborn son, and eat a snack that I bought at the store...

Fun Friday

2009-03-20T09:19:00.002-04:00

The sleep depravation is starting to kick in.

Alexander and I are going Trout fishing today, hoping to catch dinner!

Gonna be home in time to watch the second half of the first set of March Madness games.

Benjamin has his first Doctor appointment this afternoon, he looks like he's already gained a couple pounds, the kid eats like a champ!

My mother-in law arrives tommorrow for a nine day stay.

Time to go Fishing!

43 Things

2009-03-19T06:26:00.000-04:00

If you haven't visited 43things.com I highly recommend it, they have some useful advice and a cool little quiz...here are my results and the highlights of how to make a great life goals list!

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Self-Improving Tree Hugging Self-Knower

Ten Rules for Creating and Conquering Your Life List

Make your list public. Making your goals public solidifies your commitment to them, holds you accountable, and helps you connect with others who share your interests. You'll discover connections to social and professional networks that you didn't know you had and gets lots of encouragement from the people who care most about you. So make sure to tell friends, family members, and coworkers about your list and post it on the Internet at 43Things.com.

Include serious and fun goals. Vary the scope of your goals and include some wild just-for-fun dreams. Also, don't be afraid to complete less daunting goals first. Building momentum from these early successes helps you find the courage to tackle larger tasks.

Include undefined goals. Avoid overlooking a developing passion or interest by fearlessly adding goals even if you can't totally articulate them. If you wake up one morning with the desire to create art, add it to the list. Let the idea simmer in your mind until something more specific emerges.

Document progress. While reviewing the list, record your progress and determine the next steps. Documenting progress allows you to identify behavior patterns or other obstacles keeping you from accomplishing goals-it can also show you how far you've come.
Make goals manageable but rewarding. Divide big goals into smaller tasks, but not so small that they become tedious. Taking incremental steps keeps you from getting overwhelmed by a monumental goal. For example, instead of vowing to "get organized" try listing "declutter the garage."

Define the finish line. You'll find it easier to complete certain tasks and track progress if you determine the duration, results, or final outcome you desire from achieving a specific goal. Revise vague goals such as "give back to my community" by specifying what kind of work you want to do. You may not be able to do this right away-as we said, undefined goals are good, too.

Prioritize goals. Arrange your goals to reflect what you want to begin working on right away. You may want to run a marathon and get a promotion at work, but rather than trying to find the time and energy to run thirty miles a week and put in long hours at the office, focus on the goal that's more important to you.

Maintain a manageable list. Somewhere between twenty and forty-three is a sweet spot for many people. Limiting your life list to forty-three goals forces you to make some choices. Fewer than twenty goals doesn't offer enough variety to keep you moving forward.

Review your list weekly. It sharpens your focus, keeps up your momentum, and reminds you of what's important. As you review the list, ask yourself, "What have I done to achieve a particular goal this week?" If the answer is "nothing," is this goal important enough to keep on your list?

Revise and remove goals. A life list should be constantly evolving-it should reflect what's important to you right now, not what mattered in the past. Remember, there's no penalty for changing your mind or tweaking a goal to better reflect your desired outcome or new circumstances. A short-lived passion for making pottery can be reborn as "find a creative outlet," or ambitions to get straight A's in chemistry can be tossed because sometimes a passing grade is enough of a victory.

Strengths

2009-03-18T06:52:00.000-04:00

Go to Amazon.com and type in strength and you'll get a sense of the recent phenomenon...and the number one Business book right now is...Strengthsfinder 2.0

If you work in corporate America, you are probably already sick of hearing about Strengths based performance and team models. This idea has burst onto the scene in the last few years and seems to be taking over! Made popular by Marcus Buckingham and Tom Rath. The idea is that there are 34 different strengths and we all have a bit of each, but you should focus as much of your time and energy into the top few as possible to be happy and successful.

I've read most of the books, they start to get redundant and give me that dejavu feeling, but if you haven't read any, I'd recommend picking one up and then taking the test afterwards...here are my top strengths and the official sentence definition of each. What are yours?

Activator
People strong in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Strategic
People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

Communication
People strong in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.

Woo
People strong in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.

Positivity
People strong in the Positivity theme have an enthusiasm that is contagious. They are upbeat and can get others excited about what they are going to do.

Command
People strong in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

Top Three #23

2009-03-17T06:33:00.000-04:00

I'm now the father of two boys, so this week I'll tell you...

Top Three Super Heroes to a Three Year old Boy in 2009, ok maybe just my three year old boy

3. Batman--probably due to the fact that we let him watch the latest movie, I know I'm a bad parent.

2. Superman--This was his enthusiastic response when I first polled him as to which super heroes are his favorite.

1. Spiderman--This was the one he very quickly corrected him self with...Me"Who's your favorite Super Hero?"...Alex "SUPERMAN...NO,NO,NO, SPIDERMAN!"

Honorable Mention--He also mentioned Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk...the kid loves Super Heroes!

Quote of the week

2009-03-16T07:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a little heavy, so...

"Until I was 13, I thought my name was 'Shut Up.'" -- Joe Namath

A letter to my unborn son

2009-03-15T06:41:00.000-04:00

As of now, I still have an unborn son, he is likely the last such son I will have...and even he will be out in the world within hours!

So here is my last chance to tell him anything without him interrupting, first with crying, pooping, and spit up, then on to jumping on my back, elbows to the face, and darting away without notice...

Son

I love you more than I can ever express in words or actions. I will do my best to tell you and show you every day!

You're mother and I have been and will continue to be praying for you...

Not that life would be simple, or fair, but that you will be prepared for all it has to offer and when opportunity arrives, you'll be confidently ready and waiting for it.

Not that faith comes easy, but that you will see in us and creation around you reasons to believe, and that faith would become the core of who you are.

Not that you show strength, but compassion, mercy, love and action, and see it lived through us

I can't wait to see you, hold you, pray with you, play with you, and help you figure out what you are here for and to go after it with all your heart.

I'll always be a guide, defender, a safe place, someone to talk to and and no matter what, I will always be your biggest fan.

See you soon!

With all I am,
Dad

Saturday Project

2009-03-14T07:07:00.002-04:00

This week, I'm going to be doing some yard work and gathering supplies to finish my basement, but last week...

I decided to bake some bread! I bought some organic whole wheat flour recently and Saturday night decided it was time to enter the world of making my own bread...one problem...

No Recipe.

So I did what any self respecting man who is about to make his first loaf of bread did, I made up my own recipe.

I listened to my wife chatter about my impending failure the whole time, as I added a pinch of this and a dash of that, then kneaded the whole thing, let is rise, and put it in a pan in the oven...I was soon greeted with the smell of...BREAD!

It is now wife tested and APPROVED! If you're looking for a nice organic homemade wheat bread with some substance, here is a recipe worth trying...

2 1/4 Cups Organic Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 Cups Filtered Water
1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds
1/4 Cup Flaxseed...I used milled this time, but will try whole next time
1/4 Cup Oats, not sure how much this added to the finished product, but it's in there
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast

Mix it all and knead for 5 minutes then cover and let rise for 45 minutes, then knead for another minute and let rise another 45, then place in oven at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes

If you're into experiments(like me) you might like to try making it a sweet wheat by adding honey, maple syrup, or molasses...I'll be trying that...

If you're a little less adventurous, I'm sure it would be a fine traditional wheat bread with just the flour, water, salt, and yeast. Look at the ingredients on the next loaf you buy at the store and you may find yourself baking soon!

Two in a row?

2009-03-13T03:00:00.000-04:00

This is the second straight month with a Friday the 13th....weird...

I hate scary movies, always have.

I will still occasionally run up the stairs from the basement for fear I'm being followed or wonder if dead people are around when I feel a chill.

When I look at the clock at 3 a.m., it still makes me nervous...if you saw the Exorcism of Emily Rose you know what I'm talking about...frightening stuff.

So, how do I celebrate such an unlucky date...happy thoughts and a nice light comedy, maybe Dumb and Dumber or Happy Gilmore.

The Truth about You!

2009-03-12T09:51:00.000-04:00

I read a lot of books, one thing I'm going to start doing is go a little slower to get a little more out of them, one way I'm hoping it will sink in is through my regurgitation of highlights and key points here.

I'm a big Marcus Buckingham fan. Here is my recap and take on his latest book, The Truth About You.

If you've never read anything by Buckingham, which includes possibly my favorite business book, The One Thing you need to Know, as well as several others like First, Break All the Rules.
I would say this newest book is a GREAT place to start. It's a one hour read and offers up many of the highlights that are worked over a little more fully in some of his other work. It also includes a well produced and thought provoking DVD which could be watched as a stand alone study and offer some good insight, when combined with the book, it offers a great tool to help more fully understand who you are and how you should approach your life, especially at work.

His Basic Premises are

We All Have Strengths, and by strength he doesn't even mean necessarily the things we are best at, but the things that energize and strengthen us and that we look forward to doing and look forward to doing again when we're done.

We All Have Weaknesses, these are not always things you're bad at, in fact you can even be very good at them, but if it is a chore, labor, draining, before, during, and after, then it's a weakness.

We will grow most in our areas of strength, so spend as much time as possible in your areas of strength.

To live life as the best version of you, you must find and capitalize on your strengths and spend most of your time in those areas that strengthen you. To do this, you must be intentional in uncovering them and then do all you can to point your job and your life in the direction that will make the best use of your unique strengths.

As I said, this book is almost bullet point thin, but offers some basic ideas that I agree with and would encourage everyone to consider. If you've already read most of Buckingham's other work this one will seem a bit elementary, but for the time you'll invest I'd still suggest it. If you aren't fully aware of your strengths and weaknesses and haven't spent much time in Buckingham's work, I'd recommend you pick this one up ASAP!

Creation Care

2009-03-11T05:57:00.001-04:00

Our church is naturally very missional, but we're trying to become more intentional, as our guys were building out a new website, we settled on a new heading for our missions outreach, titling it Creation Care, here is a link to what I wrote there...I know that a few of you may question the theological basis for some of this (Charles Page!) but it's our way of sharing that what matters to our God matters to us so we'll put our faith and love into action...

It also sparked some more discussion within myself to flesh out this idea more fully, the manifesto is underway!

Happy Wednesday

Top Three #22

2009-03-10T06:55:00.001-04:00

It has finally happened, I did it. I broke down. I gave up. I bought a Mac...

Top Three reasons I bought a MAC-- (actually I give you an extra one this week!)

4. Environmental Impact--Best would be no computer, but if you're gonna have one, getting one with as low power consumption as possible that is also fully recyclable is about as good as it gets right now.

3. Those slick commercials--I want to be more like the Mac guy, not the PC guy, and now I can laugh a little harder without any guilt when I see the commercials.

2. Function/Reliability--My brother has had the same Mac for six years, I've gone through at least three PC's in the same time, I'm also looking to start doing more with video and photo and they are allegedly the place for all things graphics...I'll let you know on that one.

1. Cool Factor-- Yes, a big factor was the idea of sitting with my Macbook at Starbucks being cool and trendy...the kind of person I'd make fun of out of spite before.

Honorable Mention-- Size/Weight, This was actually one of the biggest factors but isn't as funny as the others. I ended up purchasing the Macbook Air, all three pounds of it!

So there you have it. It should arrive in the next couple days and my blog will become immediately cooler and more environmentally friendly! Of course in order to get my wife to agree to the purchase I also had to buy her a computer, she went with an HP...so we're a family still straddling the fence between the War of the Worlds.

Quote of the Week

2009-03-09T07:46:00.000-04:00

"Leaders are a lot like Pancakes, not something you think about too often, but when you have really good ones, You remember them for a long time."---ME

my desk

2009-03-07T07:12:00.001-05:00

is cluttered, a bit like my mind, however in both instances I can usually find what I'm looking for, just don't try to "help" by organizing things, then I really won't know what's going on!

Watchmen was a pretty good movie, though I could have done without the nudity!

I got my first FREE book to review for my blog...stay tuned for details!

Don't forget to SPRING FORWARD TONIGHT!

Happy Saturday!

Exclamation points are awesome!

I normally do this on wednesdays but...

2009-03-05T22:02:00.003-05:00

it's time for a ramble about the loose change rolling around in my head...

--My wife needs to go ahead and have this baby...seriously, she is MEAN

--I filed my taxes a couple weeks ago, got a refund last week and now it's all earmarked...sigh

--Anyone want to buy a 2003 BMW 325i, book is $12,590...I'm open to offers

--I'm gonna try to figure out how to get out of the house tonight to go see Watchmen

--Some cool stuff happening at church planning some upgrades

--I have a LOT of paperwork to do the next few days

--I've got my conference schedule pretty well nailed down for the rest of the year, hate that Exponential overlaps with CLA...

--Green has arrived, just got a Pottery Barn catalog highlighting their Organic collection

--Gotta pick up a new sensor for my Nike+ haven't been able to track my runs with it in weeks

--Dad is finally on facebook, next stop twitter and a blog!

Things I've bought at Liquidation sales...

2009-03-05T06:25:00.000-05:00

In the past month, three big box stores in the town I live in have closed their doors. Circuit City, Goody's and Pathway Bookstore.

I am sad to see them go, each for different reasons, but it's also been an interesting buying opportunity that has led me to purchase the following...

50" Television

Rolling display rack

portable sign holder

CD...the new Charlie Hall...very good

Bibleman DVD

The Prestige on Blu-Ray

and...16 books, from Nicene Council Letters to Leading with a Limp

So here's to the memories of many an hour spent wandering aimlessly through Circuit City and sipping Cappuccino at Pathway and to a few Saturday afternoon trips begrudgingly dragged by my wife into Goody's... maybe if I had bought more rather than dreaming, sipping, and avoiding you might have all lived longer, thanks for the memories, and the deeply discounted final souvenirs.

Do you smoke what you're selling?

2009-03-04T07:04:00.001-05:00

I've been thinking about this topic on and off since I almost preached about it to my youth group over a year ago. I was reminded of it by something Jeff Kapusta said a few months ago and then again this week from Shaun King.

We're all smoking something, and we're all selling something, the question is...Are you smoking what you're selling?

This is true in every area of our lives, we're all selling an image, a belief, a product.

We're also living/smoking something, the reality that too often differs (sometimes opposes) from the same things we're selling.

I want a lot of things, but more than anything, I want to be real, the same person regardless of the audience. I want to believe fully that which I say I believe...

I'm going to smoke what I sell.

Top Three #21

2009-03-03T06:54:00.002-05:00

I travel a lot for work. I care about the environment. The two often aren't easy to reconcile. That's why I've been tracking what some hotels are doing, so here are...

The Top 3 Green Hotel Chains

3. Fairmont--This is an upscale chain with a growing commitment to the environment

2. Kimpton-- Another nice chain with a focus on sustainability

1. element by Starwood-- This is the only one I've actually stayed at since the others are fewer and more expensive look for these coming to a city near you.

Honorable Mention--The best choice is actually a local independent B&B, a good place to start is HERE.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2009-03-02T06:13:00.000-05:00

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." -- Mother Teresa

Clean Coal?

2009-02-27T07:32:00.000-05:00

I've taken a few days to get off the environmental horse I've been riding pretty hard...time to jump back on!

Tanzania

2009-02-25T06:02:00.000-05:00

Tanzania

Tanzanians usually live with their extended families in huts that are clustered together. A spirit of cooperation prevails as family members share work and resources.The majority of Tanzania’s population lives in rural areas. Many Tanzanians are small-scale farmers growing only enough food to feed their families.Unemployment is high—approximately 16 percent overall—and more than half of all households live in poverty. The poor spend three-quarters of their income on food, but their diets are of low nutritional value. One-fourth of all households are headed by women, but lack of education is a problem for the female population. Most girls of primary school age do not attend school, contributing to high illiteracy rates among Tanzanian women.Some Tanzanians want to have as many children as possible because they are highly valued. A large family means more hands to help on the farm and ensures that parents will be taken care of in their old age.In some communities, traditional male attire looks like women’s clothing. Thus, it can be difficult to distinguish between a boy and a girl when looking at a child’s photograph.What is it like to live there?Tanzania, the largest country in East Africa, is comprised of the mainland and the islands of Mafia, Pemba, and Zanzibar. Tanzania has dramatic natural features and interesting wildlife, but its people face many challenges, including poverty and malnutrition.

Country Statistics
Population
38.3 million
Land Mass
342,100 sq. miles
Life Expectancy
46 years
Infant Mortality Rate
76 / 1,000
Literacy Rate
69%
School Enrollment
73%
Access to Safe Water
62%
Average Annual Income (GNI per capita)
US$340

Lakes and rivers provide Tanzania with an abundance of inland water. At the north central boundary lies Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa. Lake Tanganyika, Africa’s deepest and longest freshwater lake, extends along the northwest border. Tanzania also is home to Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain at 5,895 meters.Variations in altitude lead to great diversity in climate. The coastline is hot and humid. The central plateaus are warm and dry. The base of the mountains are lined with thick forests.Farming activities, in combination with animal breeding, forestry, fishing, and hunting, make up the primary sector of the economy. Unfortunately, much of the land is not fit for cultivation due to perennial drought. Giraffes, zebras, monkeys, lions, and elephants are among the more than 400 species of animals living in Tanzania. The Serengeti Wildlife Reserve, located in the northwest part of the country, is one of the best-known reserves in the world.

Top Three #20

2009-02-24T07:39:00.001-05:00

Since the Academy has made their decisions, I guess it's now ok for me to share with the world my thoughts on the Top movies of 2008...

By Box Office Gross Receipts (and unlike the Oscar nominees, I DID see all of these)

3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull-- I wasn't a big fan of this one

2. Iron Man-- This is the movie I saw last year that I'm most looking forward to seeing play out as a franchise.

1. Dark Knight--This was more than just a great performance by Heath Ledger, AMAZING effects, and the number two top grossing film of all time.

Honorable Mention-- Hancock, I was a little surprised this was the fourth highest grossing movie of the year and #63 of all time... I hope this doesn't lead to a sequel.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK!

2009-02-23T06:17:00.000-05:00

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.” - Thomas Edison

REPOST---How much is a Trillion?

2009-02-22T17:05:00.002-05:00

I read several other blogs with some regularity and this week ran across the following post by Rob Ketterling.

I shared this illustration from TIME magazine in church this weekend and it still is blowing my mind. A trillion dollars is a lot of money and hard to fully understand and yet the new stimulus plan with interest and continued payments will actually be over 2 trillion dollars! So what is a trillion dollars? Here's a good way to grasp how big it really is.
Using the time measurement of a second, how many days is one million seconds? Think about it, one million seconds, 60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour 24 hours to a day. Give up? A million seconds is 11 and a half days. Now here's where it gets interesting, how much time is it in years for a billion seconds? This one is easy if you're a math nerd but for the rest of us, I'll give you the answer. It's 32 years worth of seconds! 32 years to live a billion seconds. Now for the biggie, how many years does it take to live a trillion seconds? I'm going to make you think for a second or two, or three...
It would take you being supernatural to live this one out because a trillion seconds would take you 32,000 years to live all of it! 32,000 years! And every year we fall trillions and trillions deeper in debt as a country.... I think we're in huge trouble when you think about it and I'm not sure who's going to pay for all this debt. I know we keep saying that our children and grandchildren will have to pay but the deficit is so huge, it may be our great, great, great grandchildren paying for this deficit. A trillion dollars seems a lot bigger than it did just a few hundred seconds ago!

rwanda

2009-02-20T05:59:00.001-05:00

Rwanda

Rwanda's population of close to 9 million is made up almost entirely of two people groups, the majority Hutus and the minority (but politically dominant) Tutsis. Despite many similarities, the two groups have a long history of bitter conflict.Over a three-month period in 1994, nearly 1 million Rwandans, most of them Tutsis, were killed in the largest genocide Africa has seen in modern times. Communities were torn apart as neighbor killed neighbor, leaving many orphaned children and separated families. This devastating event shocked the world and left an indelible mark on Rwandan society. Today, political and ethnic tensions continue to challenge peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts in communities throughout the nation.Rwanda, which is roughly the size of the state of Maryland, is the second smallest country in Africa and also the most densely populated. About 90 percent of its people are engaged in agriculture. Most are subsistence farmers who grow coffee, tea, bananas, and a variety of other crops. Unfortunately, the ongoing effects of the conflict have had a crippling effect on Rwanda's economy. Nearly two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line.Education is essential to Rwanda's recovery and the future of its children. With only about two-thirds of the population able to read and write, the need for improved educational opportunities is great.

What is it like to live there?

Country Statistics
Population
9.0 million
Land Mass
9,633 sq. miles
Life Expectancy
49 years
Infant Mortality Rate
118 / 1,000
Literacy Rate
65%
School Enrollment
73%
Access to Safe Water
74%
Average Annual Income (GNI per capita)
US$230

Located in central Africa, Rwanda is a small, mountainous country. The climate is generally warm, though cooler in the mountain regions. Noted for its wildlife preserves, including the Kagera and Volcano National Parks, Rwanda has set aside proportionately more land for animal habitat than any other African nation. The ethnic war decimated Rwanda’s government, social, and economic infrastructures. More than 1 million people died, and many children were orphaned. Most of the population, particularly women, was left in severe poverty. As refugees continue to return, many fear that new conflicts will undermine any progress that has been made in stabilizing and rehabilitating Rwanda’s economy and its people. Reconciliation is key to rebuilding Rwanda and restoring peace and productivity. Where World Vision is working, living conditions are desperate. Families simply cannot meet their children’s basic needs, including nutritious food, safe shelter, education, health care, and trauma counseling. Working alongside families in the communities that both ethnicities now live, World Vision is helping Rwandans move beyond the recent atrocities to experience new life.

I like their coffee!

Why wouldn't you tell people what you believe?

2009-02-19T07:12:00.000-05:00

Wednesday ramblings

2009-02-18T07:14:00.001-05:00

I'm in California for a few days.

Hertz gave me a Toyota Prius, which is cool since I'm thinking of buying one, so far I've gotten nearly 55 MPG's...nice.

Got a good deal on a one of my favorite movies on Blu Ray...The Prestige, guess there are some good things coming out of the Circuit City liquidation, at least for me.

I bought my wife tickets to an upcoming Coldplay concert for Valentines Day, I may be more excited that Elbow is opening for them...

Trying to decide where I will go for my one Missions trip this year, Tanzania, Paraguay, and Haiti are on the short list...due to my time limitations (leaving wife with two small boys) I'll probably end up keeping it in this hemisphere.

I'm making some nice progress on a cool new idea...but if I told you more I'd hafta kill ya...stay tuned.

It's funny how routine and simple spreading and analyzing complex financial statements can become if you do it enough.

I read A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy on the plane out west, man that guy is amazing!

WOW

2009-02-17T07:45:00.000-05:00

Things get busy sometimes don't they...This month has been wildly wild in our house. Between the rapidly approaching arrival of another Moore and the related preparations, I've been running around doing lots while not accomplishing nearly enough.

This week I'm in California for work and looking forward to taking a few moments to refocus and get ready to re-enter the mayhem Saturday morning upon my return on the red eye from LAX.

Next week is the beginning of the last gasp of squeezing in some work, including a trip to Atlanta to see some great ministries and attend Catalyst One Day.

When I get REALLY busy, I tend to do a better job of carving out quality time with the family and making sure I exercise and spend some time in devotions...maybe I should stay overwhelmed all the time?

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2009-02-16T19:44:00.000-05:00

“The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.”--Elbert Hubbard

GOOD idea?

2009-02-12T06:54:00.000-05:00

My favorite magazine is GOOD, here is the start of an article I read there you can catch the rest on their site...

What would it take to get you out of that old jalopy and behind the wheel of a shiny new hybrid? Vancouver will give you a couple thousand bucks. Texas might give you up to $3,500.
It’s a concept called “Cash for Clunkers,” though the individual programs each carry their own names (“Drive a Clean Machine” in Texas, “Scrap-It” in Vancouver), and the idea has recently hit the national stage. It doesn’t seem, however, like all Americans are going to be able to cash in on their gas guzzlers. At least not yet.
Here’s how it works: The government offers a credit to anyone who trades in an older vehicle that doesn’t achieve certain fuel efficiency standards, and that cash can only be spent on a new, higher miles-per-gallon car or truck. Some programs, like Vancouver’s, will also trade you a bicycle or let you use your credit on public transportation fares.
On paper, “Cash for Clunkers” hits something of an immediate domestic policy trifecta: it reduces our dependence on foreign oil; it saves Americans dollars at the pump, allowing for increased consumer spending (and the economic stimulus that generates); and it should help bolster the sputtering market for Detroit’s latest offerings.
And that’s not to mention the environmental benefits, which could be huge. (Does that make it a quadrafecta? A superfecta?) Gather this—American cars more than 12 years old account for only 25 percent of the miles driven in the United States, yet they produce roughly 75 percent of all automobile-born pollution, including greenhouse gasses and low-level pollutants like ozone and fine particulates that wreak havoc on the lungs of urban dwellers.
As Congress frets about what does and doesn’t get funded in this stimulus plan, “Cash for Clunkers” should stand out as a simple and streamlined way to get money into the pockets of the most economically distressed, while boosting much-needed sales for the Big Three, helping move America beyond oil, and lessening our nation’s carbon emissions. On Friday, however, such an old car scrappage proposal was dropped from the Senate’s version of the stimulus bill.
Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, has proposed a “Cash for Clunkers” amendment that would “offer $10,000 to any moderate- or low-income consumer who trades in a car or truck that is at least 10 years old and buys a new one that is more fuel-efficient and ‘assembled in the United States.’” Ultimately it was the latter caveat that killed the plan (critics said it reeked of protectionism), though the $16 billion price tag didn’t help.

Haiti

2009-02-11T05:58:00.001-05:00

As I've mentioned in a couple other posts, I'm working this year to do what I can to help change some specific things in some specific places. Most of my initial research has been pulled from World Vision and Wikipedia. One of the places to change...

Haiti

Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. It was the second country in the New World, after the United States, to free itself from colonial powers. Most Haitians are descendants of Africans who were brought to the country as slaves by the French. Though the country’s official language is French, the majority of its people speak Creole. The Creole culture is a distinctive fusion of African, French, and West Indian elements. Haitians are particularly proud of their art, which has drawn international interest for its vitality and vivid colors.Haiti is the most densely populated nation in the western hemisphere. About half the population is peasant farmers. Some of these farmers own land, but most do not have enough to grow food for their families, let alone earn a sufficient income. Overcrowding and the demand for wood charcoal have led to severe deforestation and soil erosion throughout the country.A mountainous region, Haiti means “high land” in the native Arawak tongue. After Columbus discovered the country, the Arawaks were decimated by Spanish armies in search of gold. The Spanish were succeeded by the French, who were expelled in 1804 following a heroic struggle for independence. It was the first independent nation in the Caribbean, the first post-colonial independent black-led nation in the world, and the only nation whose independence was gained as part of a successful slave rebellion.

Country Statistics
Population
8.5 million
Land Mass
10,641 sq. miles
Life Expectancy
57 years
Infant Mortality Rate
84 / 1,000
Literacy Rate
53%
School Enrollment
55%
Access to Safe Water
54%
Average Annual Income (GNI per capita)
US$450

Haiti has the lowest per capita income of any country in the western hemisphere. Plagued by disease, malnutrition, illiteracy, political upheaval, and deforestation, more than three quarters of the population live in extreme poverty. Because of the dreadful conditions, people often try to immigrate to the United States or the Dominican Republic in search of better opportunities.The country’s climate is generally hot, with cooler weather from December to February. Rainy weather in the spring and fall can make roads virtually impassable, isolating rural communities. Hurricanes deal further blows to living conditions on the island.Life for Haitian children is quite difficult. Though they are supposed to begin school at age six, many parents can’t afford the mandatory school fees, and some villages don’t even have school facilities. It’s not uncommon for a child to enter the first grade at age 15.It is also common for children to marry at an early age. Girls may marry as young as age 15.

Where to help
Big needs exists for schools, clean water+food, financing and training for small business.

Top Three #19

2009-02-10T07:04:00.001-05:00

Since I just got a new TV(another story) I did a little research into the Pros and Cons of LCD and Plasma, here are the...

TOP THREE Reasons to Buy a Plasma Screen over an LCD

3. You're looking for the largest screen at the lowest cost--While LCD are available in a variety of sizes as small as 7", once you hit 42" Plasma become cheaper per inch.

2. You watch mostly movies and sports, you can now get LCD's with 120 hz refresh rates, but Plasma's typically have 480hz rate, four times the pricier LCD's

1. You watch most of your TV in low light--Our primary TV is watched mostly at night and mostly in no or little light, this makes the brighter Plasma really pop and the better contrast and blacks really show

Also, burn in isn't the issue it was in earlier sets and screen life is now estimated at around 100,000 hours, also the newer sets don't consumer more power than LCD's which was once the case.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

2009-02-09T07:05:00.000-05:00

"I'm never doing this again..."

Me, friday night after eating at CiCi's Pizza

Corporate Responsibility #1

2009-02-08T07:44:00.002-05:00

I purchase more STUFF than I should...from more places than I should, so one of the areas I'm looking at improving is trying to make more of my purchases from socially and environmentally responsible companies, over the next few weeks I'll be taking a look at some of the high's and low's that I uncover.

I'm starting with the largest restaurant chain in the world, based on total number of outlets...if you thought McDonald's you wouldn't be alone in your assumption...but you also wouldn't be right, It's Subway! I start here because like most Americans I eat out more than I eat in. (another thing I'm working on)

Subway has over 30,000 stores across the globe, I picked up the following from their website and must say that while it's not enough, it's a great step in the right direction.

-The first SUBWAY® Eco-Store opened November 9, 2007 in Kissimmee, FL. (Two more have since opened in Oregon and more are in various design stages).
-Since August 2006, SUBWAY ® restaurants with low-flow sink aerators have saved 41 million gallons of water annually.
-Only 100% hormone free milk is served at SUBWAY ® restaurants? .
-New SUBWAY® Cards are being manufactured using 30% recycled plastic, as we continue to explore additional ways to diminish negative environmental impacts.
-SUBWAY® take-out menus contain 10% post consumer content and come from sustainable forests? This will preserve 160 trees and save 68,000 gallons of water annually starting in 2008.
-The chain is often recognized for its clean stores and friendly service! Well, all liquid cleaners used in SUBWAY® restaurants are non-corrosive, readily biodegradable, and are manufactured without the use of phosphates and ammonia.
-Many of our products come in re-engineered corrugated boxes which equates to a savings of 2 million pounds of corrugated materials or 16,607 trees annually.
-SUBWAY® Napkin saves approximately 60,500,000 gallons of water and an additional 147,000 trees annually because they are made from 100% recycled fiber processed chlorine free.
-The footprint of the SUBWAY® four-cup carrier was reduced by 20% in 2006. This reduction saves 35 tons of paper annually, which is equivalent to 595 trees.
-The packaging for the wipes used to clean tables and counters at SUBWAY® restaurants was recently changed to an interleaved dispenser box, which will reduce the box size by 25%, saving 340 trees and resulting in 25 less truckloads on the road, annually.
-Our Salad Packaging and Catering Tray supplier for the US, Canada and Europe moved their facility from West Virginia to Texas in 2006, 1,000 miles closer to our re-distribution center. This move saves 1,120,000 miles, 160,000 gallons of gasoline, and 3,867 barrels of oil, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 1,663 metric tons of CO2 annually.
-The SUBWAY® Plastic Drink Cups in US and Canada were changed from PS (Polystyrene) to PP (Polypropylene) material? This change took place in 2005, and reduces the raw materials used by 8%, saving the equivalent of 10,421 barrels of oil annually.
-The dish detergent, floor cleaner, glass cleaner, degreaser, and restroom cleaners used at all SUBWAY® restaurants are non-corrosive, readily biodegradable, and are manufactured without the use of phosphates and ammonia? All of these features combine to provide an environmentally sustainable cleaning chemical program for SUBWAY® restaurants.

Since McDonald's is a close second in total outlets, and since they were famously villainized by the classic film, Super Size Me. Here is a link to their corporate responsibility site which has a ton of useful info on steps their taking to improve the sustainability of their company from better sourcing of whitefish and offering healthier menu options to their AWESOME charity, Ronald Mcdonald House.

25 things...

2009-02-06T07:01:00.003-05:00

I may be the last person to do this(at least I hope it's almost over)...

I was trying to avoid it, but since I see about ten a day, I guess it's time to get into the game, so here is my list of 25 randoms...

25. If it was up to me, I'd be leading a church in New Orleans... right now

24. I work with churches six days a week, sometimes seven

23. My kids may not beat yours up, but they most certainly have longer combined first names... ALEXANDERBENJAMIN

22. I was a youth pastor... in the Church of God

21. I didn't learn to drive a manual shift until I was 20.

20. I was born in Augsburg, Germany, while my parents were missionaries

19. I have two little brothers...a Pastor and a Pizza Delivery Guy

18. I LOVE College Football and would like to visit as many different stadiums on game day as possible, I added both Death Valleys to my completed list last season (LSU and Clemson)

17. I've owned a Jaguar and a Porsche...my next car will probably be a Ford or Toyota

16. I'm a Big Low Flow Shower Head Fan...ask me about it...

15. I started my first company in College....Millennial Systems...don't ask me about it

14. I was present/involved in over half of these events

13. In High School I wore my hair like the picture at the top...REALLY

12. I got my first real job on my 16th Birthday...at McDonald's

11. I can't do buffets, I always feel like I need to get my money's worth and end up extremely uncomfortable...I once won a contest to eat the most Chinese food... by doing a puke and rally

10. In college I worked at Abercrombie and Gap...and thought I was cooler than I really was (sometimes still do)

9. I joined the Army when I was 18, Boot Camp was one of the toughest and most rewarding things I've ever endured.

8. I ran the Jacksonville Marathon in 2002, I haven't had a single run over 10 miles since... looking to change that this year.

7. I spent the summer between my junior and senior years of College as a counselor at the Fresh Air Fund Camp Hidden Valley...one of the most life changing summers of my life...and I got to go to Woodstock 1999!

6. I was a History major in College and often wonder where I'd be if I was a High school history teacher and coach of random(probably baseball) sport wearing those awesome tight coach shorts.

5. I was on top of the dugout immediately after Magglio Ordonez hit the walk off home run to clinch the Detroit Tigers first trip to the World Series in 20 years in 2006, and I immediately regretted being there when hugged by a BIG drunk crying guy.

4. My first trip to Canada was under the guise of a camping trip in a friends borrowed van, he's still upset about it...eleven years later.

3. I still believe (in spite of the above revelations) I will run for congress or senate in the future

2. I've written papers on everything from Machiavelli to In n Out Burgers

1. My Dad was born in Michigan and my mom was born in West Virginia

BONUS...I am a licensed contractor, insurance agent, and investment advisor...and I don't work full time in any of those fields...GOOD times!

Customer Service

2009-02-05T06:31:00.000-05:00

I'm a sales guy...it's what I do, I've been selling since I was a kid, always listening for the need and then presenting my argumen...err...opportunity and solution! Part of that is the follow up after the sale, I learned the hard way that it didn't matter how good I was at selling if I didn't follow up afterwards to make sure others were delivering on my promises...

So...I'm pretty conscientious of sales and service and I must give credit where its due. I fly with some regularity, but I'm not ultra platinum million mile guy, and I did not send a complaint about the middle seat I ended up with on a very crowded recent flight... so here is an email I recently received from my airline of choice, DELTA

Dear Mr. Moore,

Monday's are tough, and we're sorry yours may have been less comfortable when you ended up stuck in the middle seat. While we strive to give our most loyal customers our best seats, unfortunately that's not always possible. To thank you for your flexibility and understanding, we've credited 500 miles to your SkyMiles® account. It's just one of the ways we're expressing our appreciation for your loyalty to the SkyMiles program. And we'll continue to take care of you—from booking to baggage claim and everywhere in between. So thanks again. Next time, we hope to see you in First.

They just earned a few bonus miles in my book!

Diaper Choice?

2009-02-04T22:47:00.002-05:00

Test Drives and Tantrums

2009-02-04T05:52:00.001-05:00

Over the weekend, the family and I jumped in the car and headed out for our normal morning biscuit, followed by taking our first look at several of the vehicles on our short list for replacing one of our aging chariots.

Our first stop was at the Saturn dealership, where we were greeted in the stereotypical car dealership fashion by the very friendly, anxious, young, salesman before I could even get my son out of the car. That was fine and we were prepared, a decade in sales has made me less than their favorite target these days...
We exchanged pleasantries and I let him know why were interested in the VUE Hybrid in spite of the price difference (everywhere we went we were steered/pushed from the hybrid to the regular version), after a little sales of my own we hopped into one of their 6 hybrid VUE's and went down the road...
My impressions of the Saturn--It was more like a car than the Escape we'd see later, nice finish, quiet at highway speeds, but the smallish cargo area and lack of a spare tire were definitely downers. Like the looks and feel enough to keep it in the running and I also think that since they had so many and were pushing so hard to the regular VUE, this could be had at a bargain if we are able to wait to model year end as planned.

Next stop was more about me, we went to Village Volkswagen and there, front and center was what I had come to see, the new VW CC, I think I like it a little more every time I see it. This dealership was just expanded and relocated recently and is very nice, along with their Audi store next door. The salesman was the best "sales"man I met that day and it didn't hurt that I like VW's and this one in particular...
About the CC--It has a striking low slung sports car look even with the four doors, it reminds me a bit of the Mercedes CLS500, but with a little less slope in the rear and at less than half the price. The back seat is definitely not meant for a guy my size, and even my wife would be uncomfortable for a trip any longer than downtown Chattanooga and back. This is a drivers car, tight handling, rapid acceleration, typical VW combination of form and function, this is an all around VERY good car, just not right if you need regular adult usage of the rear seats. I enjoyed the 6 speed manual and only option I'd add is the sunroof (which is HUGE). It will be tough for this one to get knocked from the top of my wish list...but I also can't justify the 21 mpg city mileage so it will remain on the wish list, not in my garage.

Our last two stops were back in Cleveland at Larry Hill Ford and then Gray Epperson Mazda, we were looking primarily for the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute, with an additional hope for more info on exact availability date for the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. What we got was the worst reinforcement of the South I've seen in some time...
We were informed that they hadn't sold an Escape Hybrid since 2006, and the sales guy repeatedly questioned our interest and pushed the regular Escape... they seemed clueless about the new Fusion Hybrid, but were happy to push a "fuel efficient" 2009 Fusion.
In spite of this, we took an Escape out for a test drive and it performed capably, but I was surprised that it wasn't as quiet, tight, or generally refined as the VUE, it was more Truck like, though it did have a little more cargo room...and a spare tire. We'll keep our eyes open and hold judgement until the new Fusion comes out...

Most likely result of all this is that my wife will likely get a used Escape Hybrid, I'll probably get a used Prius and we'll probably get both...HERE.