On Getting Older

The other night my buddy Molesky and I played Call of Duty online. I'm sure if there had been a camera in the room you'd have laughed yourself silly watching my figure out how to play my PS3 online. I had no clue and had Mo not been able to create the connection, I'd still be trying to figure it out. I like to consider myself pretty savvy, I even know how to turn my ipad on, but in the end, I'm beginning to realize that technology is on an evolutionary advance plan that at some point is going to pass me by.

Yesterday I got to go see the Doctor. Nothing major, they just wanted to check me and to figure out how one guy gets this good looking. Or that's what I told myself.

But waiting in the waiting room I realized there were roughly 25 of us and 3 of us didn't have gray hair. Well, I guess I should qualify that because I'm bald so that makes me old too. Let's say that only 3 of us did not qualify for AARP, a social security check and anyway....

I listened to one group of three talking about faith. One of the guys was a retired preacher and he was talking about his church. Their talk eventually transitioned into the fact that one of the other men liked Joel Osteen.

On a sidelight I learned that no matter your age, conversations about Joel O are never dull.

There was another older couple watching the TV in the waiting room and they spent the time bemoaning the fact that TV ain't like it used to be. Turns out Andy Griffith was the pinnacle for TV. Originally the one lady was adamant it was Andy Williams. Once the figured out it was Griffith they moved on to the problems with TV.

Now, I agree, TV isn't all that edifying often. But that's not the point of this post. But if you are wondering , the Real Housewives shows are stupid.

Here's what I've taken from the last 48 hours. We all get old.

In our own way we age, and at some point our methodology, theology, preferences and attitudes stick on a particular set and stop moving. We find that thing that brings us happiness and everything for the rest of time gets measured against that. Our knowledge base gets exhausted and we spend the rest of the time wondering why things aren't like they used to be. At some point whether it's a laptop, a cell phone, the microwave or the ignition for our car, we wonder how to operate the darn thing and why they have to make it so technical. At some point we start using something in its most basic way while ignoring all of the "extras" that it now comes with that those young whippersnappers are raving about.

My grandma used a microwave the same way every time until she died. She put whatever it was in there, typed 5 minutes and watched it till she was happy with the level of defrost, cook, melt or nuke she saw. She didn't need a defrost, a popcorn, a keep warm or a turntable button. She needed a 5, a 0 and a start button.

Some peoples TV need a power button and a channel and volume up and down. DVR? Never heard of it. Program guides? That's why they buy TV Guide. Pay Per View movies? That's what Blockbuster is down the road for. You get the point.

Don't you think all of "them" said the same thing "we" are saying now? "I'll never get old, I'm never going to be like them." Yeah, let me know how that works out for you. Just remember to call me on my rotary phone because I don't know how Skype works.

So what's the point of this post? I don't know. I guess it is to recognize reality. It's to make myself aware that there are some things that I want to keep changing as I get older. Some things can stay the same. But I DON'T want to keep thinking and acting the same way I do right now up until I take my last breath. When it comes to video games its not a big deal. But when it comes to my attitude and perspective on things that DO matter, I think it does.

So here's to staying young. Now I need to go fire up my dial up connection so I can put this thing on that WWW thing.

What Makes A Winner?

Carter and I sat and watched the NFL games this weekend.Turns out my predictions were right, it is the Steelers and Packers. Why did I pick them? Well for one, I can't stand the Jets. But really, I picked them because they are winners. The Bears and Jets? The seem to have a knack for coming up short, just like my Ducks and Blazers often do.

Now without turning this into a bash on teams that lose a lot I have been wondering what makes up a winner?

If you take a minute, you can list the teams in each sport that always seem to win. Duke, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Red Wings. Los Angeles Lakers. They are a select group. But every time your team plays them you know you think "We're screwed." If your team draws them in the playoffs or the tournament you immediately start thinking about what the next season will bring.

On the contrary there are teams who seem awesome but can't seem to win the big one. The Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, Texas basketball. Now, I'm not trying to take shots at your favorite team. Some of these have even been winners at times but in those cases it is the exception rather than the norm.

So what makes a winner? How much does culture really play a part. Sometimes its just flat money that helps, other times it just seems like a persona. Same with teams that just flat out are horrible. It's a culture thing.

Raiders, Clippers, Pirates, Orioles. You know they are bad and even when they are good you know it is a fluke and by next year things will be back where they belong. They try all sorts of approaches but the results are always the same.

What I'm thinking is this, a culture of winning is a perfect mix of leadership and solid players. You can drop an amazing coach in a situation and get crap--just ask Bill Parcells. But you can sign tons of great players and get junk too--just ask the Blazers or Redskins.

So here's to realizing that whether its our home, our church, or whatever we do, excellence starts with us. It's not always about winning. In fact why we respect these teams isn't because they win everything every year, its because for the most part they are predictable....predictably great. What needs to change where we are so that excellence is the norm year in and year out rather than making one historic run of greatness every 25 years?

Turns Out We All Suck At The Same Stuff

Currently Listening to: American Slang by The Gaslight Anthem

For the past hour or so I've had the "opportunity"to read through a bunch of application and reference forms for potential Know Sweat interns. I actually enjoy the process quite a bit but it can get a bit tedious and my personal track record is that I'm average at best at judging character from sheets of paper. Whenever our team finally has what we affectionately call "The Selection Show" to pick them, my hope is that I'm not too high or too low on somebody everybody else feels strongly about in the opposite direction. That happened once, and I made the final call.

And I was wrong.

That being said, anytime you ask people to evaluate others on a 1-5 scale you end up with people who are all 5's and people who don't seem to have any areas of weakness. It gets comical to me how similar everything looks and sounds after a while. This year I made some notes and here's what it seems like every college student can be described as.

They struggle in stressful situations, seem to lack some self-confidence and could really benefit from more life experience.

Hmmmm, well from that description it sounds like everybody I know. Clearly we once again did not get any former Presidents, CEO's of major corporations and no retired military leaders. Of course they struggle under stress and could benefit from more experiences. By the way, they are college students!

Now please understand, I get what we are saying here but when I think about it these are issues we are going to wrestle with for a long time. The polar opposite of this person is stress-less, over confident and has seen and done everything. Quite honestly that person would annoy me. More than anything.

So here's my thought about all this rambling. Here's to thinking about some people we want to invest in. How can we help them get better in these 3 areas. We all know somebody and we can do something to encourage them or spur them on. And for us personally, what are you doing to better yourself in those 3 areas? Because I know me and I could always improve at handling stress, being a bit more confident and challenging myself to attempt new adventures.

Here's to changing.

MLK

I confess that though I'm a history lover, I did not grow up caring much about the Civil Rights Movement. I don't remember it being taught much in school and I only heard what was filtered to me by teachers and other adults in my life. In a totally non CQ way, I remember being afraid to visit my Grandpa and Grandma Gilchrist because they lived in the "ghetto". I went to an all white private school partially because my folks didn't want me to go to the predominantly Asian high school that was the magnet school in my neighborhood.

Please hear me, I was not raised poorly and I did not grow up the least bit racist. However, there is more in my opinion than just not being something, I was and I suppose still today am not the best at interacting with those that are not white and middle class. There are a lot of barriers in life I have learned and skin color is probably one of the easiest to navigate.

I'm grateful thanks to what I do that I've had to be in a lot of different situations, that I've had the chance to meet and learn from people I would have never otherwise met. What I've learned is there are some amazing people out there and I've yet to meet a person who can't teach me something and hasn't made my life better. I can only hope they feel the same about me.

Probably my favorite city where I've had the chance to learn and be stretched is Memphis. I love that city. Everybody on our team does. We love the atmosphere, the food, the culture, the food, the BBQ but especially the people. Some of the finest people I know live in that city.

A while back I was there for a set up trip and my friend Tom and I had the chance to go through the Civil Rights Museum there. You see the room MLK was staying in when he was assassinated. You walk across the street and stand where the shooter probably did. You stand on the bus Rosa Parks made her stand, well, her sit, on. It's not a "fun" experience but it is moving.

So today we honor MLK. We will probably see part of that great speech, ESPN will play a bunch of basketball games which doesn't make much sense to me, but usually it doesn't cause much of reflection time for me. Until this year.

The picture I posted for this post is from a project Carter did for school. For some reason its struck a deep chord in me. I love the glimpse into his heart, I love what he's thinking and I think it is exactly what Dr. King was after. I'm sure he knew some of what he was doing that day on the Mall. I'm sure he had no idea what he was doing that day as well. I know he didn't give it so that my son and I could talk about his school project. However..... What I love about it is that it's not perfect and some ideas aren't the best. But its a starting place for a 7 1/2 year old. I know I didn't think that way at that age. Dreaming isn't always about having the perfect idea, its about casting a vision others can join and together something amazing happens.

So here's to thinking today. Here's to addressing the judgmental ideas inside our own hearts. Here's to remembering a leader, a pastor, a man who was not perfect but painted a picture of beauty and called us to something richer than what we knew or even know now. It's a lot bigger than Oprah having her own TV network. It's even bigger than Obama in the White House. It's best when it changes the way you and I think and act today. Here's to a dream, here's to calling kids to think now about what they can do for others. Who can you challenge today that might do things we never dreamed of tomorrow? That seems like something worth dedicating some time to.

Mind Games

Currently Listening to: Out of the Shadows by Matthew Perryman Jones

Possibly because I am an introvert, I think about things more than some. I am notoriously slow at processing information in the heat of the moment but give me a few hours to think and I can come up with a halfway decent answer.

I was reminded of this yesterday when I had to take a short drive. There is something about the open road that helps my mind find traction and before I know it I have an idea or two swimming in my head. That is probably another reason why Ang sometimes complains I'm not the most conversational when take a trip.

This all started years ago when I was in college and would make the 100 mile drive from Moberly to Quincy to do weekend youth ministry. Those minutes uninterrupted became for me the best time to write sermons, think strategically and put plans together.

These days I don't have much free time like that. It's true, I do spend my fair share of hours on planes and on the road but they don't seem to be quite the same. Maybe its the ipad that keeps me from being thoughtful these days.

I say all that to ask us a question. When do we think and what do we need to schedule into our lives to have some time with our thoughts long enough to put a plan together. I personally hate nothing more than feeling frantic or stressed and feeling like I have to make decisions in a rush. It seems like that is when I make most of my mistakes.

The thing is thoughts can be very powerful for good or for bad. It takes hard work to keep them useful.

Last summer I got to head to Oregon to hang out with my friends on the MOVE team. One night Matt Proctor who's the President of a college here in town was speaking and he talked about how we choose to make bad decisions. Every once in a while I'm a sucker for a snappy way of saying something and he said our thought process usually goes, "Hesitate, contemplate, negotiate, participate." Makes total sense to me, I've followed that path many times. Now follow me, this isn't just on major things, this is sometimes just a selfish decision or one that doesn't alter my eternal destiny as much as it is a shortcut or a prideful move. I'd go so far as to say I don't think you can commit a sin you didn't think about beforehand.

A while ago I was talking with a friend at work and I said to him that in my opinion there is no more powerful weapon in Satan's arsenal than our power to justify. It just seems to me that we sometimes make something seem okay in our head and that's the worst thing we could do.

So here's to a couple of things. One, let's find some time where we can get some peace and quiet and sort through our thoughts. Maybe its a nice drive, some time in nature or whatever. And second, here's to owning up to the fact that most of the dumb stuff we do that we regret afterward was a conscious decision. It's time to turn our minds loose being creative towards our future instead of allowing it to be used for our destruction.

The Bible and the Oregon Ducks

It's true, I've not written in a while.

This thought has been bugging me for the past few days. I kept trying to figure out why I had nothing to say and then it hit me. I'd been reading virtually nothing. At least for me if I'm not putting anything in my head to force me to think, I seem to sink to a pretty mundane level.

To be fair, I've been reading a lot. Most of it had to do with the BCS game and all sorts of things about bloggers had to say, most of which ended up being so far away from the truth it is a shame they get paid to write.

The problem for me is the longer I don't write, the harder it is to start writing again. Hence why there is a gap on this blog of a few years where it seems I had nothing to say. So though this post might not inspire you to stick with your New Year's Resolution, it is for me a reentry into posting.

So like I said, I've been reading but not any of the books I said I'd conquer over Christmas. In the end, most of my reading has been the mental equivalent of cotton candy. It looks good, is pretty enjoyable to devour but when I'm done I've got nothing but a sugar high and some junk in my teeth.

So this week I've been landing in a chapter of the Psalms that I can't seem to wrap my head around. I guess if we were to keep things in the realm of food, it would be the equivalent of a Snickers bar. It's chewy, its good and it keeps me running for a while. To be honest, I don't understand a lot of it but there is one verse in particular that I really like. The version I'm using is the ESV because, well, that's what my youversion was last set to. So here goes, Psalm 26:3

³For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in your faithfulness.

The whole chapter is pretty nifty. I'd say it's a worthy read but that one particular verse has me going right now.

Maybe its the simple but profound truth it speaks of that I like. In the midst of way too much hype about a game, uniform colors and who's dad did or didn't get money under the table, it's a reminder to me.

If you were to answer how that verse is true for you, what would you say?

I know my answer and part of it is that terrific little boy who sat with with us big boys and watched the game. The same one who shed some tears as that kicked sailed through the uprights to crush a dream. The same one who came downstairs this morning covered head to toe with Ducks stuff ready to talk about next year.

Not a bad reminder that I'm blessed. Not a bad example of moving on and moving forward and realizing that in the midst of all things each day is ripe with new hope.

So there you go. It's me, back. And no, God doesn't give the slightest rip about the BCS. He wasn't on either teams side and I don't think Oregon makes my life any better, richer or hopeful. But its fun to follow, its fun to share that passion with my family and its best to have the daily reminder that God is faithful, that he loves me and I ought to stop reading blogs long enough to realize it. Unlike cotton candy, that kind of thing can really stick with you.