When I was young my brother and I would sometimes get to boating with our aunt, uncle and cousins. We would load up, head to the lake, and spend the day tubing and skiing behind the yellow speedboat.Usually at some point midway through the day we would head into a little cove on the lake, anchor the boat and swim around for a while. I’m not sure why, but I loved anytime I got to help anchor the boat. It wasn’t rocket science but you had to make sure the boat actually wasn’t floating away, and that the anchor didn’t get stuck.

Now to contrast the anchor duties, my uncle was usually the only one to drive the boat. He knew when to speed up, and when to slow down. The nice areas to go into and the places to stay away from. He knew how to pull a skier vs. a tuber, and he knew appropriate speeds for the varying ages, and how far to push it when we said ‘Go Faster!’. He had the skill necessary to properly captain the boat.

Recently I heard someone say we’re all on the boat and you’re either an anchor or an engine. You can keep the boat where it is or you can push it forward. As I thought about that my mind took it a step farther. I think some people are naturally anchors, they cling to history and tradition. And while it may seem like there isn’t much to the anchor, they remember how and why things are how they are.

But there comes a time to raise the anchor and push forward. That’s where the engines come in. They push things forward. These people are striving for improvement and change. They must know how to navigate the waters. When to drive fast, when to drive slow, and how far to push the limits. They must not, however, ignore where we come from.

When anchors and engines are used together properly it’s a great combination. Without the engine there is no progress and without the anchor you’ll loose your purpose. I think I’m an engine, and I married an anchor. My Lady is always keeping me grounded and ensuring my push for progress is rightly motivated.

Which are you? Anchor or Engine?

Innovate: To create something new.
Now lets bypass the ‘There are no new ideas’ discussion and take this to mean that you can do something no one else is doing. This is definitely an exciting category. You are stepping into the unknown, and with that can come great success or great failure. I’m no good at this. I think my mind is too logical to function this way. I find that most of my ideas are usually just an abstract amalgamation of things I’ve seen or heard.

Change: To transform.
This guy has gotten a bad wrap. Change is when things begin in a new direction. For the better or for worse, as Sam Cooke said,”Change gonna come.” Either way I love it because this is my wheelhouse. Small or drastic, slow or quick, I’m all about change. As I said before I love finding new ways to leverage what we have. I like to think of it as ‘innovation of the existing’, but that’s probably because I’m bitter about not being in the first category.

Update: To make current.
I think this tends to be more of a stop-gap measure than an actual solution but is still a viable path. I think you find updating happening when you are waiting on an innovation or change. Updating is a delicate matter. New principles can not simply be applied to old systems, you must have a very transitional individual who can see through the situation from beginning to end.

Die: To Die(metaphorically of course)
The End. If there is no forward movement because of innovation, change, or updates you will slowly cease to be. Some people are so resistant to progress that it leads to stagnation and then death.

Where do you fall?

I like to read about pages. You know the page that a site author uses to inform/brag/warn you about themselves. Wait, warn you? Yeah, it seems odd to me as well, but sometimes you’ll find a disclaimer here.

Now I get the general idea behind this. Things posted on the internet can sometimes have unexpected and unintended effects, and this is an attempt to protect the writer from some of the repercussions. But is there any actual protection in a disclaimer?

Here’s the general feel for most of the disclaimers I have seen.

The things that I write are my own ideas not of anyone else. So don’t hold anyone else to them but me, especially not {insert organization here}.

Honestly I wonder, what purpose do they serve? We know whose ideas they are but when you are affiliated with an organization your ideas/values should probably line up, especially if you are someone who can ‘communicate’ for said org. It seems to me like a cop-out to just say don’t hold them to my ideas. I think if you represent something you should probably not start off by trying to distance yourself from it. Own up to the responsibility, if there is a disparity between you and your organization it should probably be dealt with.

Also, who would be reading your blog and thinking; “I can’t believe this is posted. it goes against everything that…..Oh wait now I see these are just his/her ideas and no more. I guess that it’s all fine then.”  It won’t happen like that.

This book had a profound impact on me after I had been ‘academically dismissed’ from college. I was searching for purpose after my plans had completely fallen through. And God used a Dr. Seuss book to show me the way. I felt worthless, I was a failure, and I didn’t know where I was going. The first page says,

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

And it made me think, “Despite the complete lack of direction you feel – you are on your way to good things.” it was a representation of Jeremiah 29:11 wrapped up in Seuss(Does God do that?) I felt God’s love in that moment. He hadn’t forgotten about me, I hadn’t messed things up for good this time. The simple truth that I needed to see, nothing could separate me from his love. Romans 8:38

On the last page is my favorite part.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

Mountains! I know I’ve heard that somewhere before. God has big things planned for me. Huge things, I just need to have faith. I can’t help but smile when I see or read this book anymore(even though I don’t have my own copy). Anytime I see it on a shelf or a store it makes me think of God’s promises.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were more everyday things that caused us to look to God?

Information is everywhere. You can find anything out if you take the time to look for it. I really get a kick out of finding a subject or a task and researching/learning about it. I spend a good deal of my free time teaching myself new things like playing the guitar, hypnosis, or 5 different ways to tie my shoes. Even my work lends it self to constantly researching information and learning new things. As great as it is to have this breadth of knowledge, it has a downside. I’m not an expert at any of these things.

Jack of all trades, master of none is how I believe the saying goes. Not a new idea, but what I’ve been wondering is; is this a good thing?  Is it better to be ‘well rounded’ or to continually develop one particular skill? Now I know that this isn’t black and white and that there are usually multiple disciplines involved in every field, so I’m just asking on which side would you err?

I think its my personality/nature that leads me toward the breadth rather than the depth of knowledge. Once I reach the point of comprehension I’m ready to move to the next thing. It is almost painful for me to reach the ‘expert’ level. I like to go just deep enough to engage in a substantial way.

This scenario raises some questions in my mind. What effect does this have on my commitment? How does this change my process for learning? What are the strength areas here that I can focus on?

D-W-A
Divert Daily
Withdraw Weekly
Abandon Annually

The man has a thing for alliteration doesn’t he? This year I have put a heavy emphasis on discipline in my life and a part of that focus leads to ensuring I am allocating my time appropriately. I am the type of person that will run himself ragged with responsibilities. I’m lucky to have a wife that will point out times when I might be overcommiting myself, but even with an adequate load I think it’s important to make sure that you don’t edge out that personal time we all need. These three ‘axioms’ are a guideline to keep you refreshed and renewed.

Divert Daily-
We need to be sure to get our quiet time with God. It’s a foundational part of any day and can be quickly edged out by other more ‘urgent’ matters. Take time each day to connect with God, and to spend time in His word.

Withdraw Weekly-
This one snuck up on me. We need a personal sabbath, a day of rest. A time that we don’t fill with other responsibilities orchores and truly rest. I’ll admit I was the first guy to fill his day off work with…more work.

Abandon Annually-
Complete disconnection.  Every year we should take time to remove ourselves from our day-to-day lives to reflect and renew. The time frame on this might be different for others but I need 5 days to remove myself completely from other responsibilities. And I like to do so on the beach.

Simple words with huge implications. I am working to make these departures a regular part of my life. What method do you use to keep your soul refreshed?

February was a great month and it seemed to have just flown by. I suppose my blog project kept things moving rather quickly, but its now march and BIG things are coming. Check out this crazy list of things going on that I get to be a part of!

March:
10th – 12th :: National Church IT Roundtable
13th :: Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover Live
19th – 21st :: The Weekend #92
26th :: Lincoln Brewster Concert @ Northwoods
28th :: Northwoods 20th Anniversary Celebration

Quite a busy month but I’m very excited for everything going on.

Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Plenty

I’ve heard many people proclaim, “I have no regrets.” I think they’re lying. Because when this declaration is made you can see in their eyes that they aren’t saying they’ve never done anything regrettable, just that they are choosing not to let that regret affect their lives. I don’t think its an entirely conscious decision they make, to lie about regrets, maybe more of a defense. But at the base I think the intentions are good. We can’t let our lives get caught up in our mistakes.

But not acknowledging our pitfalls and our shortcomings is a no-no. We need to learn and better ourselves from the times we mess up. A large portion of our character is built from those times when we have to face something we have screwed up.

So yes I have regrets, and what I’ve learned from them is a large part of who I am.