is this the part...

I was part of a group of dads who participated in a dance routine during Hannah's recital (the dad video is on my facebook). When I was on my way to the first rehearsal I told Shayna that I was just going to keep interrupting the instructor and asking "is this the part where I rip my shirt off?"

I made the mistake of telling Konan the same story. One of the owners of Passe (the place Hannah takes dance) goes to C3 and Konan decided to share my comment with her. At practice the next week, she and her husband asked me about it - is this the part where you rip your shirt off...

You know how sometimes you do things at home that you should only do at home. Things that are funny to us at the dinner table aren't necessarily funny to do at someone elses house or in a public restaurant? You know how you have to have those conversations with your kids and explain it to them that all the conversations we have at home don't need to be repeated - THIS WAS ONE OF THEM!!!

My point: We all do or say things that everyone isn't supposed to hear. Even if we don't want them to be repeated, we should be prepared if they are.

No harm was done with this one (I actually thought it was hilarious & so did they) but how many times do we wish we wouldn't have said something or hit "send" before we thought about it.

Side humor: yesterday we were having lunch at the same place some of our friends were eating and I had Hannah (5) and Raegan (3) go to their tables and ask "is this the part where I rip my shirt off"- it was pretty funny. I guess if we can do it at home, we can do it in a restaurant...

what I am reading

Here are just a few of the resources I am into these days. 

catalyst offers some free resources (audio, ebooks) that are worth getting and taking a look at.

you can sign up to get these emailed to you each day:
seth godin has a blog worth reading. it will definitely challenge your thinking.
leadership freak is always a good read.
minute with maxwell  is a good 1 minute video clip of John Maxwell talking about a word. good to have going in the background while you are getting set up in the morning.

my point: I am always trying to learn and here are a few of the free resources I use to grow.

Let me know if you have some you like. 

oh crap!

Next Wed @ Pulse we will be talking about crap.

We all have those moments in life when we can't say anything other than "oh crap!"

We will be sharing stories about our "oh crap" moments and we will talk about how to avoid them.

We are going to talk about the ultimate opportunity for the worst "oh crap" moment ever & how to make sure you don't have it. I am sure there will be a lot of funny stories, some sad stories but the goal is to learn from those stories.

My point: when you are prepared and warned, you have no excuse. Share your "oh crap" stories so others can learn from them and learn from the stories you hear. There is no reason to repeat those moments.

I would love to hear your "oh crap" story. You can leave a comment or post on my FB wall

perfect timing

Last night @ Pulse (C3's student ministry), Jacey talked about perfect timing. It was a great message that made me ask this question. How would I live my life different if I TRULY believed that God's timing was perfect.

We can say we believe it, we may even want to believe it but if we truly believe it, why do we worry, why do we question, why do we get mad, why do we pout, why do we rush things or stall.

What if God's timing was really perfect and we lived our lives as if we believed it.

My point: We may not always get what we want when we want it and we may act like spoiled rotten kids when we don't but if we really really believed God's timing was perfect all the time - I believe our lives would be different.

How would your life be different if you really believed God's timing was perfect...

fill in the gap

In 1 Cor 13 Paul tells us what Love is. There is a part toward the end that says Love always Trusts...

When we expect something from someone and what they deliver is less than we expected, we have a gap. We choose to fill that gap with suspicion or trust. Today many C3ers made the decision to give the benefit of the doubt when there is a gap between expectations and experience.

Trust is something we choose to give or withhold. When we choose suspicion over trust we are communicating rejection. No one functions well in a relationship where they feel rejected.

My point: it feels a lot better to trust than to go thru life being suspicious and not trusting anyone. When you don't trust anyone, you are a lonely person. When you fear being hurt so bad that you won't trust anyone, you will never have meaningful fulfilling healthy relationships.

Trust is a choice: what's the downside?

Hannah

Today was the day all the hard work was on display. Weeks and weeks of practice, outfits, hair, drama and laughs came to a close today after Hannah's recital.

It was absolutely amazing putting all this work into a 3 min presentation and it was well worth it. I cried watching my 5 year old little red headed princess show her ballet moves. It wasn't a perfect performance but it was perfect to me.

I was blown away at all the work behind the scenes and all the people it takes to pull off a dance recital. They did a great job. Passe did a great job and we are very pleased with them as a dance studio and as people. We got to know them a little on a personal level as well as business.

My point: the older my kids get, the more precious time seems to become. I don't ever want to miss out because I am too busy doing something that won't matter in the future. I want to give them the greatest present I have - my presence.

It was great getting to know some of the other dads too. We got to dance a little too (if that is what you want to call it...)

kayaking

Today my oldest baby girl turned 15. I am so proud of her and wanted to do something different so I had planned a hike and along the way I was going to share 15 things I want her to always remember.

Somehow when I got on the websites to see some good trails, I came across a kayak trip. I tucked that option in my pocket and figured I would give her the choice. While we were driving I asked if she wanted to go for a hike or a kayak ride and she chose the kayak option.

Once we got in the boat, I thought of a lot of life lessons I could teach on this 1.5 hour trip. The coolest one we shared was how I am now allowing her to make more decisions for her life. A coach helps someone get where they want to go. I believe she knows what God wants her to do so it is my job to help her get there. I don't want to accomplish my will for her life, I want her to tell me what she feels God's will is for her life and I will help steer and guide thru rough waters.

We encountered some obstacles along the way, she got tired of paddling, we worked together, we communicated differently but we made it. It was a great growing experience for both of us.

My point: I want the best for my daughter and I have to begin to trust her and help her get where she feels called to be.

I will always be her daddy, I will always be there for her and I will always love her. I am sad she isn't a little girl but I am excited that she is growing into a young lady.

Happy birthday Shayna. I love you little girl... 3

guard your heart

We have an amazing team of adult leaders to help Pulse student ministry. These guys (& gals) just get it. They not only make my job easy, they make it fun.

We are seeing incredible LifeChange in so many of the students & that is contagious. We need to experience LifeChange ourselves & model it for the students.

The other day one of the team was strugglin with something & called me. She let me know that she prayed thru it & determined that there was no way she was going to let this go to her heart. She understands that what is in ur heart comes out. It was more important to her to guard her heart so when she poured out to the students, poison wouldn't come out. That is called LifeChange!

As a result of her choice to guard her heart, she was able to pour love out to the youth that night.

My point: what goes in - comes out. If u have bitterness & unforgiveness in ur heart, poison will come out.

Someone said when u choose not to forgive someone, its like drinking poison & expecting it to hurt the other person.

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