Archive for March, 2009
· Categories Christianity, Church, Student Ministry
Last night the high school small group that Corrie and I host had a cookout. We grilled burgers and hot dogs, had chips and soft drinks, and concluded with brownies and ice cream. Some of the students sat outside at a patio table while others sat in the living room on our couches. Still others went between those 2 places and the kitchen table. We concluded the night playing some games. For this one week there was no Scripture read. We didn’t unpack any theological issue of importance. And yet…
It was one of my favorite weeks of the semester. They were engaged. They were interacting. We had fun. They opened up to one another. I heard conversations about prom. They talked about homework assignments, teachers they loved, and ones they didn’t. Some of the newer students talked about recent Wednesday nights, and some of our older students encouraged them to keep coming because “it only get’s better.”
I’m not saying we shouldn’t open the Bible. We want to help students grow in their relationship with the Lord. But man, it was so much fun watching relationships and community happen.
March 31, 2009
· Categories Business, Leadership
I flew a lot more than usual in the months of December and January, and discovered a sneaky airline trick. Since they are rated on number of delays, on-time flights, etc they pad the departure and arrival times to help them meet their mark.
For example, my 1 hr 9 minute wheels up to wheels down flight from Atlanta to Akron, OH allows for 1 hr and 40 minutes according to my boarding pass. That is a lot of extra time for taxi, take off and landing. Not only that but the same flight is called the 6:30pm flight, but the ATL airport recognizes it as the 6:48pm flight. There’s a few extra minutes just in case.
Why is this important?
Because the next time I see an ad for an airline with “more on time flights than our competitors” I’ll know they padded the numbers. They gave extra cushion to accomplish a percieved success.
Do I do this? Do I count correctly? Do I cushion my numbers? Do I try to appear bigger, better, or more successful than I really am?
Do you?
March 28, 2009
· Categories Books
I recently finished Marcus Buckingham’s newest book “The Truth About You”. If you’ve never read Buckinham, he is a self-help writer though that doesn’t really do him justice. I have enjoyed several of his other books, but this was different than those. It’s format made it very easy read. It was also accompanied by a DVD and memo pad to assist you as you read through it.
To give you an idea of what the book contains, here are some of the chapter titles:
“Your strengths aren’t what you’re good at, and your weaknesses aren’t what you’re bad at.”
“You’ll never find the perfect job”
and
“You’ll never turn your weakness into strengths” (my favorite)
There are some very practical life application things that you can do to help drive these points home and make them come alive.
Overall I liked the book. It wasn’t the best book I’ve ever read, but it was a really good reminder of some principles that all of us need to know to get a better personal perspective.
It’s worth picking up!
March 27, 2009
· Categories Humor
I saw this on Mark Batterson’s blog. I love it!
Chuck Norris has counted to infinity…twice!
When the bogeyman goes to sleep at night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris once ordered a Big Mac at Burger King…and got it.
Chuck Norris is the reason Waldo is hiding.
Chuck Norris can win a game of connect four in three moves.
If Chuck Norris were President we wouldn’t need a military.
Apple pays Chuck Norris 99 cents every time he listens to a song.
When Chuck Norris falls in water he doesn’t get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris.
March 26, 2009
· Categories Blog, Technology
I have seen quite a few posts with the same title as this one in recent months.
I used to blog very regularly. Since Christmas…not so much! There are many reasons. One of them being my increased use of twitter. I have 200+ followers on twitter with more interaction. I’ve never had a lot of commenters on the blog here, but on twitter I get a lot of @ replies. I love that interaction.
It also allows me to unpack short random thoughts as opposed to writing an entire post. Speaking of writing, I have also been writing a book during the last several months so most of my long writing times have gone to finish that project. Once the book is finished I think I will blog more, but no promises.
I love the ability with Twitterific on my iPhone to twitter while walking to my next meeting or waiting in the car. While I do have WordPress on my iPhone it’s a little more difficult.
Just some random thoughts. If you are a blogger and a twitterer…what has your experience been?
March 25, 2009
· Categories Blog
I have been getting a lot of spam commenting, and it’s annoying. So, I have installed some plugins to try to catch spam bots. I hope that it doesn’t prevent you from commenting in the future. I just wanted to let you know.
Thanks
March 24, 2009
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