Yikes...

You know those times that come into every life when you ask yourself, "Why did I ever start down this road?!" Well, this guy is having one of those moments.

I Am Thankful...

I am thankful...

For the love of my life, Susan
For my precious daughters, Katie Lea and Caroline
For my "adopted" son, Serge
For friends and extended family
For the grace and love that God shows me every moment of every day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shopping Advice...

The biggest shopping day of the year is Friday. Tripp and Tyler have some great "Black Friday" shopping advice for us in this video.



I'm ready to go shopping!

I Fell Off A Pole...

I fell off a pole recently. To be exact, I fell off the same pole three times.

The pole was a 40-foot telephone pole, and it was an "element" on a ropes challenge course that several of my SoHills' ministry team mates and I took part in recently. In the spirit of full disclosure I should indicate that during my entire time on the pole I was wearing a safety harness... which was in turn firmly attached to a belay rope. All that's to say I was in no real danger of plunging head-first to the ground. However, even when one is firmly attached to a safety rope ones' brain does not typically applaud/support/endorse climbing to the top of a tall pole in order to stand on top of it.

Which gets me back to my three falls. I had made it without incident to the top of the pole, and was making a slow turn to my right... when my brain overpowered the rest of my body and sent me reeling off the pole. At that moment my brain had seized the upper hand. Not only was it telling my body we shouldn't be doing this crazy thing... my brain was broadcasting on all channels: You can't do this!

Thus, as I attempted to reposition myself at the top of the pole I found it immensely harder to achieve my original stance, since my brain was doing a terrific job of telling my arms, legs and torso: This is impossible!

Which produced in short order two more falls from the pole... bringing my grand total to three.

I will say this about me... I am one stubborn guy. My conversation with myself on the pole was going something like this:

"Okay, you've done the pole before. It's just not happening today. Let's call it quits and climb down and try again some other time."

"No way! I'm not getting down off this pole until I have successfully completed the task."

"Well... tell that to your arms which are growing more fatigued by the minute. And if you haven't noticed, your right leg is starting to cramp."

"There is no way I'm getting down until I've done this!"

I could bore you with more of my mental chatter... but suffice it to say that I re-focused, climbed to the top of the pole and leaped off (which is how one concludes this element).

Lessons learned (some for the 189,786th time):

1) If you don't think you can't do something, you most likely won't be able to do it.

2) Perseverance is hard, and maybe crazy at times... but falling is a part of life, so getting back on must be a part of life as well.

3) God has put some interesting "wiring" in me (as He has you). I'm not always certain His wiring of me is the issue... or my stubborn, at times un-submitted, will.

4) It's easy to quit. It's harder to stay with something. Godly wisdom is knowing when it's time to bag it... and when you need to suck it up and stick with it.

5) I am one stubborn guy (but I already told you that).

The Top 10 Meeting Personalities...

The following post comes from Jacqueline Yeaney, the Chief Marketing Officer of Premiere Global Services, and someone who has obviously sat through a lot of meetings. See if you recognize any of the personalities she describes based on meetings you've attended.

1) The Multitasker: All of us are guilty of multitasking during a meeting. Some of us are better at it than others. When asked a question, the Multitasker frequently responds with, "Sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat that?" The Multitasker can be harder to engage online or over the phone than in person. It's important to keep this personality engaged and call on them often. Keeping them on their toes may decrease the amount of time they spend multitasking.

2) The Mobile Meeter: The Mobile Meeter thinks nothing of conducting or attending meetings in the airport lounge or in the carpool line. Two keys to a successful Mobile Meeter: 1) having conference details handy in an Outlook Calendar so they can quick-dial into a meeting and 2) having a clear understanding of how to self-mute background noise.

3) The Disrupter: Changing the topic or taking people down a side street, the Disrupter can sometimes uncover new thinking or creative ideas. But the Disrupter can also blow up an agenda and make other meeting participants irritable and cranky. You'll know the Disrupter as they often end a sentence with " ... but I digress."

4) The Overbooked: Doesn't know how to say no to a meeting invite so they attend them all. And are late to them all! The Overbooked generally greets team gatherings with "Sorry, I had a meeting that ran late ... "

5) The Interrupter: When a good idea comes to mind, the Interrupter can't wait to present it to the group. And does ... right at that moment! This personality is not inherently bad because hey, it is a GOOD idea. But have caution: combining the Interrupter with distant relatives the Disrupter(#3) and the Long-Winded can create meeting anarchy.

6) The Socializer: Always prompt, always interested in where you live, how many children you have and what the weather is like in your town. This individual is a great asset most of the time, because the Socializer establishes rapport among participants and is willing to connect and collaborate. But beware: you may have to politely decline an invitation to view pics from the Socializer's Halloween party.

7) The Maestro: Consummate professional, never starts a meeting without establishing a clear agenda and proper perspective. At the end of a meeting clearly recaps the discussion, outlines next steps and identifies action items. Even when the Maestro isn't running a meeting, their organizational command shines through. The Maestro's smooth skills can often help manage the Disrupter (see #3).

8) The Timekeeper: No matter what is happening in a meeting, the Timekeeper is aware that someone "has a hard stop" and tries to motivate the team to complete the meeting at the predicted close. The Timekeeper doesn't always blend well with habitual late-comers like the Overbooked.

9) The Snacker: Can you hear the Snacker crunching over the phone? Kudos to the person who will work through lunch, but mind your table manners, please! And for those noisy phone eaters, learning about mute features is a requirement.

10) The Social Networker: (not to be confused with the Socializer, #6 above)--The days of meeting notes are changing. Many professionals are Tweeting or Facebooking live from a meeting. Note to self: bad form to tell your social network that a meeting sucks, especially if you have befriended the meeting host!

Stories Are Powerful...

There's no denying the power of a great story.

Awkward Photo...

Ouch! I'm afraid someone is getting broken-up with tonight after prom.