Lights Please!

Bulldogs Rule!

Because I have Bulldogs I know this reflects their personality's. Skate On!

Quote of the Month

Well because I have been busier than usual. Here is the quote of the month rather than the quote of the day. This one is from Erwin McManus.

No matter what you do in life and everything you do in life you are telling your story. Erwin McManus

In The Heat of The Summer

Well today is the warmest day of the summer so far. This has been an unusually cool year, but today the Dogs took advantage of the swimming pool to cool off. Like kids they don't stay in the water. Getting out and back in contributes to a cool "Mud Bath".

Quote of The Day

Image by janusz l via Flickr

I like a person who knows his own mind and sticks to it; who sees at
once what, in given circumstances, is to be done, and does it.

-- William Hazlitt (1778-1830) English Essayist

What I did on My Summer Vacation

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

In a Land Far Away...

Image via Wikipedia

The Tour De France is on. Believe it or not Lance Armstrong who has not raced for 3 1/2 years is right in the mix of it. Currently in 3rd place with over a week and a half to go. So today I took a rare day off. Well kind of. I spent the morning working in my sons apartment sheet rocking. This afternoon I met up with Tom from the camp. We put on our biking shorts and headed for the Highway. Having done this a few times we were dropped off at Wal-mart in Decorah so the wind was at our backs. 85 degrees and sunny we headed up hill toward Waukon. Now Tom being somewhat 10 years my younger and much better looking then me, I new I was in for a race! I felt my competition rise up. The hills tested my lungs and legs. The heat my sanity, but over all we arrived in Waukon with a great ride behind us. Feeling like we need to prepare more before the Bike2camp ride at the end of July.

Who won? Well Tom of course! Who encouraged him every mile of the way to victory? His Coach, Me! Who else. If you can't win, Coach. If you can't coach, make up stories about your trip.

It was a beautiful day!

Feel Like quitting?

Have you ever felt like quitting? Giving up? Well if your in need of a pep talk. Here is a scene from Dodgeball that has Lance Armstrong in it.

Every night I say a prayer...

Richard Baxter said: “This life was not intended to be the place of our perfection, but the preparation for it.”

No matter where we have come from or what we have been through we are all moving like a shooting star through the night sky. Destined to reach it's target and to return to hand that has set us ablaze. This week I have finally come to an end of a road that I hope will lead to a place of some summer rest. With great things on the horizon and many pieces in place for the future I am ready for a rest. Feeling like the lyrics to a Kerry Livgren song I'll follow you, when he says:

"Searching horizons of hope
For some long lost dream
In one sweet moment I'm
Plunged into Your healing stream

I'll follow You, 'cause You give me the desire
I'll follow You, leaving the world behind
I'll follow You, though You take me through the fire
I know I can never be the same

The seasons of life come and go. We continue to step forward and we continue to believe. All that happens to us is not for naught, but rather an important part of the preparation for perfection. Painful, exhilarating,exasperating even bewildering at times. Perseverance builds character. We will become new!

"Always another word to be said
Always another symphony in my heart
Never repeating, ever so new
Whatever the music, still I will cling to You
One so true"

I can feel the meaning now in every breath I take
Through the laughter and the tears, in every choice I make
Not a moment passes by that I don't realize
We never live, until we harmonize,

Man's Best Friend and Gas free option

Well if you know us. You know that we are one car short. Too many directions to travel and not enough vehicles. What we are not short of is dogs! Maybe one problem can be solved by the other! LOL. Check out this little video./ If you see me running down the road like this, remember what Mark twain said.

“Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in”.

I want your kite strings tangled in my trees all wrapped up

Well. It has been a long time. I have been through and am still going through what most likely is the busiest time of my life. I thought things were supposed to slow down as you got older? Not so! These are the days to run while you can.

We are just starting a new small group called Crazy Love. I expect it to yield great things in everyone's life as we work through it together.

One of my favorite books, the bible, has this saying in it. "in all your getting get understanding". I have been thinking lately about understanding. About our journey here on earth and how we are to go about getting that understanding as we move through it. About accomplishing meaningful goals and leaving some kind of a worthwhile impression on this place called earth and the lives it holds. One of the things I have noticed about this great land is the independence people have, myself included. It seems to be an integral part of who we are as Americans. In fact it seems to be the driving force behind our society. It has provided many things but it has also been costly.

Today working with a group of kids I was once again reminded what independence has cost us. It has cost us harmony. Not in the sense of everyone getting along. But harmony in the sense of oneness regardless of socio-economic status or race or geographic location. Independence has filled us with little regard for furthering us as humans and instead had filled us with desire to get to the top of whatever it is we are pursuing. Many people I happen to run into lack many of the basic social skills to impact others worlds even through a simple conversation and at every chance avoid those situations. I am not suggesting we abandon what we are, but I am suggesting we are leaving behind the things that matter most. "In all your getting get understanding". My understanding tells me we are a people far from God. I'm not getting all religious or supernatural on you. I am just saying that I see people who do not have God in their lives and I see the condition of their struggles. Mine included. I see lives that are unfulfilled but are filled. You know what I mean?

The bible says "apart from God we can do nothing". I have done a lot of things, but those things have not produced a filling. Really they were just traded for. Time traded for cars, time for stuff, time for position, time for authority. All that time went to those things. If you were not one of those things,you didn't get me! We tell our kids they are valuable, then we teach them to trade their time for things and rob others of those same great kids!

I may be entering another stage of life and I hope it will be different. I want more of what God has done to me. I want what I have stopped him from doing in me. I want to stop settling and I want to walk with Him. I want to be changed and filled by his presence and I don't want to be religious. I want to be a difference maker. I believe that's the difference between being religious and being in love. I want it at any cost. That is hard to say!

If you want my love, well you’ve got to get close to me
If you need my love, well you’ve got to get closer to me
Oh, if you want my love

I don’t understand why we can’t get close enough
I want your kite strings tangled in my trees all wrapped up
I don’t understand why we can’t get close enough
I’ll be the comets that are fallin from the sky you light up

You’re my shirt, I an arm
I’m the tick, you’re the bomb
You’re the L and the V, I’m the O and the E, and we…
Am I speaking clearly?



Jars of Clay/Closer

First Winter with alternative fuels

Well hopefully we are headed to Spring here soon. Only 20 some days until springs appears on the calendar. We have went through the winter with alternative fuels for the first time. This year we burned corn for heat in our cornburner and the only natural gas we used was to heat water.

The first thing I noticed was a constant heat source. Because the corn burns constantly there is no rise or fall of the temperature as the forced air furnace shuts down and waits for the temperature to drop enough so the thermostat clicks on.

Our heat bills last year were around $250.00 to $280.00. Since the cornburner our highest bill was $36.00 for the water heater. To sum it up. We probably would not go back. If for any other reason the house temp was kept much warmer than the previous years and I like the heat.

Let's talk vacations

Last month I was in Arizona Leading the Converge USA Assessment center. You might call it a work trip. However one afternoon while the rest of the team was working I slipped out for a couple of hours adventure. It was 35 degrees below zero in Iowa and that day in Arizona it was sunny and 72 beautiful warm degrees. So someone had to enjoy the outdoors and I knew it would not be my family back home in Iowa. So I sacrificed and down the road I went. My first stop was at a bike shop called Cactus Bike. If you have seen one bike shop maybe you have seen them all. I mean after all. All they have are bikes, grease and parts. But it is not the bikes that draws me there but rather the adventure of a possible vacation. As I said 35 below at home or 72 and gorgeous in Arizona. Where would you rather ride? I talked with the shop guys about the usual bike talk then switched to where do you ride? The thoughts of the desert and bikes is a trip I am hoping to make sometime. I know its a desert! Yep, that's what attracts me. In my mind I absolutely love the desert. Dry, sunny and more dry. They explained some of the rides that were taking place such as the Bark at the Moon ride. The Cactus Hugger festival. Sounds great right? Well. There just seems to be so much going on lately that I had to settle for some dreaming of riding the desert. So I walked out of the store Dreams in hand and a book to plan, scheme and dream. Someday in the future. The desert, my bike and oh yea my best friend. My wife. I will let you know when it happens but for now it's starting to warm up here. I can't wait to be active, outdoors and feeling the sun again.

A Little Bit Of Listerine...

Here is a midweek laugh. This is worth the time.

Warrens Inauguration Prayer

Did you hear Rick Warrens Prayer at the Inauguration ceremony? What did you think of it? There was much controversy to him being chosen to give that prayer. Here it is if you did not see it. Let me know what you think?

Launch

62 Days Until spring.

This is waiting to be ridden


Stopped in at Cactus Bike in Arizona Last week. No time to ride as I was there on work. The weather though had me in the mood to think about riding. Like I said, 62 days until spring.

What are your plans for Spring?

Talent

The Free Dictionary defines Talent as:

talent
n talent [ˈtӕlənt]
a special ability or cleverness; a skill

skill
Noun
1. special ability or expertise enabling one to perform an activity very well

How do you ever get this good at stacking bricks like the guy in this video, without breaking a lot of your toes?.

1. You have to overcome your fear of smashing your toes because you are indwelt with the possibility of accomplishing such a feat.

2. You have to risk possible injury that could result from your mistakes. All for the growth the would happen in your self esteem through accomplishing your goals.

3. You have to realize life without risk takes a lot more work and no one posts it on youtube. The rewards are also greater than the risk.

4. You can't let the inevitable broken toes stop you from your goals. You know it will eventually happen. Take some time to let them heal while you plan your next attempt. Fear Not! Your not alone. Just believe you can eventually overcome failed attempts. Persevere.

This is a new year. What will you attempt in 09? What will you risk? What injuries and setbacks will you have to be determined to overcome?

Risk is untamed faith. Go after it!