Saturday, October 25, 2008
How far would you go?
Today must be the day for sharing Internet content. I just received this from a friend and found it compelling enough to share. The Bridge.
Why is Guitar Hero so much fun?
For those of you who have ever spent any time in the Chicago area, you are probably familiar with 93XRT, THE radio station for the over 30 crowd. Lin Brehmer has been there forever... This ditty come from his Lin's Bin. Why is Guitar Hero so much fun?
Monday, October 13, 2008
FIREPROOF
Last night was date night, first time in a long time. Karen and I went to see a movie that every couple should see, Fireproof. Before I get into the movie, let me warn you a little bit about the website. If you are using a tabbed browser, all of the menu links on the landing page open into separate tabs. I didn't notice and was getting pretty frustrated. When I went to tab back to this blog, I noticed I had a dozen tabs open... They are worth checking out, once you figure our what is going on.
The Movie is produced by the same folks who brought you Facing The Giants. Directly from the "About" page, "FIREPROOF is the third feature film from Sherwood Pictures the creators of FACING THE GIANTS and FLYWHEEL. With hope-filled, heartfelt storytelling, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church continues to touch the world from Albany, Georgia."
I don't want to be a spoiler, so I won't get into the details. If you spent anytime at all on the website, you probably saw more than you should. I will say that this is one that you probably want to see on the big screen. Oh, and ladies, bring some tissues...
To give you some idea of just how unique this movie is, here is a snippet from the F.A.Q on the website: "What’s the deal with the kiss between Caleb and Catherine in FIREPROOF?In a romantic scene in FIREPROOF, lead actor Kirk Cameron is actually kissing his wife Chelsea rather than Erin Bethea, who plays Catherine. Chelsea was flown in from Los Angeles just for that shot. The scene was filmed in silhouette and works incredibly well, with Chelsea wearing the same outfit and a wig to mirror Erin. Sherwood Pictures has upheld this standard in all their movies: actors and actresses should guard their own marriages while on screen the same way they would do in real life. That’s why you don’t see Coach Taylor (Facing the Giants) or Jay Austin (Flywheel) kissing the women playing the on-screen wives.Kirk also has long held to a principle that he would kiss no woman other than Chelsea. He was able to honor his marriage while making a movie that inspires others to do the same."
I would highly recommend that you see the movie, SOON!
The Movie is produced by the same folks who brought you Facing The Giants. Directly from the "About" page, "FIREPROOF is the third feature film from Sherwood Pictures the creators of FACING THE GIANTS and FLYWHEEL. With hope-filled, heartfelt storytelling, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church continues to touch the world from Albany, Georgia."
I don't want to be a spoiler, so I won't get into the details. If you spent anytime at all on the website, you probably saw more than you should. I will say that this is one that you probably want to see on the big screen. Oh, and ladies, bring some tissues...
To give you some idea of just how unique this movie is, here is a snippet from the F.A.Q on the website: "What’s the deal with the kiss between Caleb and Catherine in FIREPROOF?In a romantic scene in FIREPROOF, lead actor Kirk Cameron is actually kissing his wife Chelsea rather than Erin Bethea, who plays Catherine. Chelsea was flown in from Los Angeles just for that shot. The scene was filmed in silhouette and works incredibly well, with Chelsea wearing the same outfit and a wig to mirror Erin. Sherwood Pictures has upheld this standard in all their movies: actors and actresses should guard their own marriages while on screen the same way they would do in real life. That’s why you don’t see Coach Taylor (Facing the Giants) or Jay Austin (Flywheel) kissing the women playing the on-screen wives.Kirk also has long held to a principle that he would kiss no woman other than Chelsea. He was able to honor his marriage while making a movie that inspires others to do the same."
I would highly recommend that you see the movie, SOON!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
...been awhile
Boy, its amazing how life really gets in the way of LIVING! Seem like we never have the time to do what we really want to do, because we are busy doing all the things that we "have" to do. Sometimes I have to remind myself that the only thing that I HAVE to do is die! Even God doesn't require us to worship him, or even believe that he exists. HE is the one that gave us "Free Will" and with that free will comes a life full of choices.
I want to take a moment to recognize one of the choices that my son Clay has chosen to make. He has Chosen to serve on the production team for the Elevate service here at Willow Creek Community Church, were I am a participating member. He serves every third week. Serving entails about 4 hours on Saturday night and another 5 hours on Sunday morning. I know, because I get to haul him back and forth. I'm sitting in the Willow atrium as I prepare this posting.
He works on the video team but has also been asked to contribute on the creative content side of the production as well. He enjoys it all, but the creative part really suits him well. The thing that I really want to focus on is his choice to Volunteer. In an "all about me" society, I am afraid that we are seeing fewer and fewer people that are willing to commit some part of their life to serving on others on a regular and consistent basis. Fortunately most people will still participate in and single event or an ad hoc support effort or emergency response. But those who make serving others a meaningful part of their lives seem to be rare.
Its never too late to adopt a servant's heart, but if you have children, I would urge you to do two things. First MODEL the behavior. We all know too well that our kids will mimic what we do, the good and the bad. Let them see you serving others. Let them see you serving Joyfully and Frequently. Then, encourage them to serve and support them when they do. The first part of that statement is easy. There are ample opportunities for everyone to serve. Helping them find a serving opportunity will take all of about 60 seconds (OK, it may take a little longer than that). Once they have made a choice to serve, you need to support them in that choice. That my friends is going to take a commitment on your part. It is yet one more stop on your taxi route. It is another calendar object that needs to "fit" into the family calendar. Heck, it may even involve a financial commitment on your part. The greatest single thing that anyone can give is their Time, but sometimes, a bit of cash doesn't hurt either.
Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
I want to take a moment to recognize one of the choices that my son Clay has chosen to make. He has Chosen to serve on the production team for the Elevate service here at Willow Creek Community Church, were I am a participating member. He serves every third week. Serving entails about 4 hours on Saturday night and another 5 hours on Sunday morning. I know, because I get to haul him back and forth. I'm sitting in the Willow atrium as I prepare this posting.
He works on the video team but has also been asked to contribute on the creative content side of the production as well. He enjoys it all, but the creative part really suits him well. The thing that I really want to focus on is his choice to Volunteer. In an "all about me" society, I am afraid that we are seeing fewer and fewer people that are willing to commit some part of their life to serving on others on a regular and consistent basis. Fortunately most people will still participate in and single event or an ad hoc support effort or emergency response. But those who make serving others a meaningful part of their lives seem to be rare.
Its never too late to adopt a servant's heart, but if you have children, I would urge you to do two things. First MODEL the behavior. We all know too well that our kids will mimic what we do, the good and the bad. Let them see you serving others. Let them see you serving Joyfully and Frequently. Then, encourage them to serve and support them when they do. The first part of that statement is easy. There are ample opportunities for everyone to serve. Helping them find a serving opportunity will take all of about 60 seconds (OK, it may take a little longer than that). Once they have made a choice to serve, you need to support them in that choice. That my friends is going to take a commitment on your part. It is yet one more stop on your taxi route. It is another calendar object that needs to "fit" into the family calendar. Heck, it may even involve a financial commitment on your part. The greatest single thing that anyone can give is their Time, but sometimes, a bit of cash doesn't hurt either.
Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
168 Hours
I have mentioned Arlin Sorensen in one of my earlier posts. I have a great deal of respect for him as he is a terrific mentor and an outstanding model as Christian business leader. He frequently reminds us that we each have 168 hrs. per week. We need to be very deliberate about how we spend them, because once they are gone, we can't get them back.
Several weeks ago he challenged me to begin Journaling . You may recall that was the challenge that also gave birth to this blog. At any rate, I am very much a "rookie" journaler (is that a word?). Here is my method. I have a devotional journal with pages just a bit smaller than a memo pad. Each night, just before bed, I quickly recount my day, from the time my knees hit the floor in the morning (for prayer), right up to that moment. I try to document those moment throughout the day where I felt the presence of God. It might have been just a thought in my mind. Or, perhaps a conversation with a friend. I jot them down. Now, this is the key part for me, when I come to the end of the page, I STOP! There are no two page entries.
Why? You tell me... Actually, I can think of several good reasons, but I'd be more interested in why you think that a person might want to limit their journal entries.
This has been a setup for what I really wanted to say. The more I become sensitive to those "168 hours" the more deliberate I become about investing them wisely. Here is an example. I used to meet regularly with two guys from work. We meet every Wednesday evening, for dinner, just prior to our mid-week church service. It wasn't really as small group meeting, as we has no agenda and no formal curriculum. It wasn't really an "accountability" partner thing as I believe that is a one-on-one deal, but there was certainly an aspect of that in our time together. What it really was, at least to me, it was authentic community. A couple of guys getting together on a regular basis, just to see what Jesus would do when we all showed up. For some reason, over time, various things started to disrupt our meeting. Finally they just stopped.
Today, Tom, one of those guys came by my office. After the usual small talk, he came right out and said that he missed those times together. He missed the presence of God that we felt when we were gathered together as Brothers in Christ. That, my friends was an "Ah Ha!" moment. That was not only worthy of an entry in my journal, but a special posting to this blog. THAT is WHY God gives us 168 hours per week to invest in other people. I had all I could do to contain myself as I said, "It would be my pleasure to meet with you again. You name the time and the place an I will be there." I can't think of a better way to invest 1/168th of my week!
Several weeks ago he challenged me to begin Journaling . You may recall that was the challenge that also gave birth to this blog. At any rate, I am very much a "rookie" journaler (is that a word?). Here is my method. I have a devotional journal with pages just a bit smaller than a memo pad. Each night, just before bed, I quickly recount my day, from the time my knees hit the floor in the morning (for prayer), right up to that moment. I try to document those moment throughout the day where I felt the presence of God. It might have been just a thought in my mind. Or, perhaps a conversation with a friend. I jot them down. Now, this is the key part for me, when I come to the end of the page, I STOP! There are no two page entries.
Why? You tell me... Actually, I can think of several good reasons, but I'd be more interested in why you think that a person might want to limit their journal entries.
This has been a setup for what I really wanted to say. The more I become sensitive to those "168 hours" the more deliberate I become about investing them wisely. Here is an example. I used to meet regularly with two guys from work. We meet every Wednesday evening, for dinner, just prior to our mid-week church service. It wasn't really as small group meeting, as we has no agenda and no formal curriculum. It wasn't really an "accountability" partner thing as I believe that is a one-on-one deal, but there was certainly an aspect of that in our time together. What it really was, at least to me, it was authentic community. A couple of guys getting together on a regular basis, just to see what Jesus would do when we all showed up. For some reason, over time, various things started to disrupt our meeting. Finally they just stopped.
Today, Tom, one of those guys came by my office. After the usual small talk, he came right out and said that he missed those times together. He missed the presence of God that we felt when we were gathered together as Brothers in Christ. That, my friends was an "Ah Ha!" moment. That was not only worthy of an entry in my journal, but a special posting to this blog. THAT is WHY God gives us 168 hours per week to invest in other people. I had all I could do to contain myself as I said, "It would be my pleasure to meet with you again. You name the time and the place an I will be there." I can't think of a better way to invest 1/168th of my week!
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