Something To Think About

Been on vacation for the last week or so, so excuse the lack of posts. I meant to put up a post explaining why there would be no posts, but then I realized that was stupid.

Anyway, today's post is a "think and chew" post. Here's a video of Rob Bell describing his next book - a few of the questions he's planning to wrestle with. What do you think?

Strengths: Woo

Strength #4: Woo

Wait, what does that mean? Woo apparently stands for "Winning others over." I derive satisfaction from meeting new people and making connections.I 'exude an exuberant outlook towards life' while 'regale people with illuminating accounts of incidents in my life.' Basically - I like being around people and charming them.

How do I use this knowledge? Suggested action steps:

Deliberately build the network of people who know me.

Learn the names of as many people as I can.

Whenever possible, be one of the first people others meet.

Practice ways to charm and engage others.

Partner with a person who is skilled in relating or empathy, so they can grow the relationships I cultivate.

Practice telling stories. I want to be a great storyteller (which relates to another one of my upcoming talents, hint hint), and to do that I need to practice more - identify what elements of story work and what don't.

Roles in which I would succeed: A job in which I can interact with many people over the course of a day (receptionist?)

I think this relates to how I am interested in small group communities.I like being in group settings and charming people. It reminds me of conversations my wife and I had when we were getting married - because she is very skilled in relating and empathizing (not my cup of tea, by any means). We were excited about the partnership - because she can relate one on one, and I can relate in group settings. I'm excited to see that identified as a positive step, and one I've started working on.

Strengths: Adaptability

I recently took a "Strengths Finder 2.0" strengths assessment test. You buy this book which gives you a code to take the test online. It's 120 questions, or something, and the questions are all "continuum" questions. There are two statements on a line, and you have to choose which statement is more true. Frequently the statements don't seem to be related or contradictory, which is supposed to help you split the hair a little better.

So for the next week or two, I'm going to be reviewing my results, one 'talent' at a time. (They give your top 5). I'll count up from the bottom.

Strength #5: Adaptability

Wait, what does that mean? I go with the flow. (It's true. Most people know me as a rather easy-going fellow, one who doesn't make waves.) Gallup says that I tend to make plans through the day, but refuse to be held to an inflexible and rigid schedule.

This puts words to something I feel - why I prefer to drive everywhere almost exclusively. I don't like being somewhere at someone else's whim - I want the freedom to adapt and move where I want.

How do I use this knowledge? A few suggested action steps:

Don't let others abuse your inherent flexibility. Cultivate your reputation as a calm and reassuring person. Seek roles in which success depends on responding to constantly changing circumstances. Openly use your reassuring demeanor to soothe disgruntled friends or coworkers.

Roles in which I would succeed: Live action television/radio, customer service, emergency response.

One thing that the guy who introduced the program mentioned about this survey is that for many people, taking Strengths Finder isn't a revelation of their skills or talents - it's a vocabulary lesson, helping put words to feelings and actions that have already been apparent. I certainly feel this way about this talent.

On Provision

A friend recently wrote a blog post about discovering the ways that God will bless him this year. I read it and wished that I would start to see that in my life.

And then my car broke. And life was paused.

And so my wife and I prayed for miracles, for solutions, for answers. We didn't have 3 grand to fix the car, but we needed a way to get around. We shared our need for cash and our need for rides with our communities, and lo and behold, our needs were met and answered.

Over the space of three weeks, we only took the bus three times. Neither of us needed to miss work or school once - because people blessed us with rides.

After making our needs known, we were gifted with 1500 dollars to help repair our car - with only 300 needing to be paid back.

And then, to top it off, I found an auto-repair shop that would be able to save me about 800 dollars on the repair. I brought the car there to get the repair done (a head-gasket replacement).

They called me about four hours after I brought it in. They couldn't find a leak in the head-gasket. Instead, there was an issue with the fan-cooling relay that would cause the car to leak fluid and look like a head-gasket issue. They repaired that for about 10% of the original estimate. I saved 2800 dollars, and was able to afford to repair the brakes as well.

We'll even be able to give back a majority of the money that was gifted to us.

Sometimes you have to sit back and be thankful. Jess and I have been so thankful for our friends and family that have supported us in this time. Thank you so much.

A List of 50 Things I Cannot Do

1. Start a fire by rubbing two sticks together.

2. Clean a deer.

3. Slam dunk a regulation hoop.

4. Skate, blade, or ski.

5. Hotwire a car.

6. Change my own oil.

7. Do a backflip.

8. Climb a sheer rock wall.

9. Impersonate a celebrity.

10. Grow a uni-brow.

11. Make beef stew.

12. Ride a motorcycle.

13. Create an igloo.

14. Crack a whip.

15. Hack a website.

16. Build a tree-house.

17. Speak another language.

18. Swim the English Channel.

19. Create an origami swan.

20. Rebuild an engine.

21. Make lasagna.

22. Avoid tearing up while watching Up, The Iron Giant, or The Return of the King.

23. Repair a lawnmower.

24. Draw a straight line.

25. Take a gunshot without flinching.

26. Talk my way into a villain's lair.

27. Eat a 96oz steak.
28. Bring my car into a controlled spin.

29. Hang-glide.

30. Jump across rooftops.

31. Read someone's bluff in poker.

32. Name a player on the Yankees.

33. Sing in a public setting.

34. Win a drinking contest.

35. Use a pogo-stick.

36. Train a falcon.

37. Tell you who won the World Cup.

38. List the lyrics to "It's the end of the world as we know it."

39. Drink Guinness.

40. Build a Millennium Falcon.

41. Ride a unicycle.

42. Ride a horse.

43. Throw a knife.

44. Fly-fish.

45. Outrun a bear.

46. Wrestle a gorilla.

47. Grow a ZZtop-style Beard.

48. Play a bass guitar.

49. Build a computer from scratch.

50. Give a speech to inspire America to fight off the alien invaders.

Godzilla Threshold

Some situations reach a point that any solution, no matter how devastating, is worth it. This is the Godzilla Threshold.

You reach a point where it becomes worth it to summon Godzilla, the "patron saint of collateral damage."

It's that point where nothing could be worse than not solving the problem, so any and all solutions are on the table.

I don't know why I find this so cool, but I do. It nurtures my inner geek.

What situations in your own life reached a Godzilla Threshold?

Superbowl Analysis

First, I felt like I should share this video of the Marshawn Lynch Run:

So I'm at 3-7 throughout the playoffs - not a great batting average. I'll end at either 27% or 36% - by far my worst ever postseason picks percentage.

My season average is 58%, no matter where my Superbowl pick ends up. That's not a bad average, I don't think. Average, anyway (and 4% better than Dave).

And the Superbowl Pick...

We have Pittsburgh and Green Bay, with Green Bay being favored by 2.5.

Pittsburgh is more balanced; Green Bay is more explosive.

Here's the truth... When it comes to the Superbowl, you never know. The game can go anyway, and it's usually not the way you want it to go.

There's something about having to focus on just one game that really trips your brain up. When I was making regular season picks, it was much easier - because there are so many you can't really put detailed analysis into it.

So, onto my Superbowl picks. That's right, I said picks.

Bird Bowl Pick: Did you know that the Packers are named after their first sponsor - a moving company? So it's the equivalent of those shady furniture movers or a steel worker - I'll take the steel worker.

Spread Pick: If there's one team that would keep it close, it's Pittsburgh. If there's one team that would blow it wide open, it's Green Bay. I'm going to take Green Bay, I guess.

Head Pick: Green Bay in a dome. That's all I need.

Heart Pick: Green Bay Packers. I hope they win.

3/4 picks go to the Packers. So there ya go.

Sabbath Group

A couple of days ago I asked you to imagine Church as it could be. It seems only fitting then that I tell you a bit about how Church is, right now, for me.

Church, in my experience and history, has always had two components; a heart and a backbone. I went to church for the heart, and the backbone helped support that. Let me explain.

When I first started going to church (First Baptist of Spring Lake), the church itself was the backbone. Sunday services, prayer meeting, etc. These supported what truly drew me to Church -Youth Group, which was the heart of it for me. I was drawn by the community and the relationships that Youth Group offered.

College had the backbone of Bible College and the heart of Monday Midnight Prayer. Post-College had Seacoast Church and EveryTuesday, but more importantly, "Family Dinner," a Sunday night prayer gathering. It was when I moved back to Michigan that things started to change. I bounced from community to community, not having a strong backbone. I did have "Friday Nights at the Muffin Place," which was a great way to grow in relationships.

And now I've moved to Seattle and have not found a typical "church" to partake with and of. I don't have the backbone that was so familiar and helpful as I was growing up. But recently, I've found the heart of a community that truly draws me - Sabbath Group.

We meet weekly in each others homes and have a meal and drink wine. We take turns sharing how our lives are going and what God is doing. We share hardships and successes, laugh and cry, drink and dream. Tomorrow, we'll get together and make homemade pizza's and watch the Superbowl.

So that's the place I'm in with Church. My wife and I have talked recently about finding the space and place to reintroduce some sort of backbone to our lives, but I feel no pressure. It's been an interesting journey to here; but it's helped me realize what's important and what's not; what I will fight for and what I will take a pass on; what's worth the trouble and what's not.

Life: Paused

There is something so frustrating about the pause.

That moment where you have to stop where you are and pick it up again later. It drives me crazy when I have to pause a movie and stop in the middle of some cool action scene (or more accurately, when my wife pauses the movie).

What's worse is when you pause the movie and get so engrossed in something else, that you forget about your movie until a few hours later. My DVD player will shut off about twenty minutes after you pause it, if you don't do anything. Then you have to try to restart, figure out where you were, and hope the beginning of the movie remains fresh.

Life pauses too. And my life has been in a (meta)pause, and a (mini?) pause.

Last week, my car blew a head gasket. The repair will cost between two and three grand - money I just don't have. It's been so frustrating, because I've been thinking about all the things I wanted to do this year - look at my New Years Resolutions, for jeepers sake! And without a car, a lot of those seem unreachable or unattainable. I felt like I was growing and in a good place, and all of a sudden it was three steps backwards.

Isn't there a cruel irony in finally paying for YMCA membership and using it to get in shape and then your car breaks and you can't get there?

So my life is in a (mini)pause.

But my life is also in a (meta)pause.

My life had forward momentum until I got married. Now I'm married, but there isn't a momentum in my life, because I'm in the "supporting spouse" role right now. I'm not complaining - I love my wife, I love being married, and I love being in Seattle. It just seems strange that I haven't taken an active role at a church in two years. I haven't applied for a pastorate type position in about a year and a half.

And that's not necessarily bad. I think I burned myself out in those roles for a long time. Perhaps instead of using the word pause, I should think of this time in my life as a breather?

Breather: A moment of anticipation where you stand on the edge of a slippery dock and wait to jump into the icy water.

When I think in those terms, it's helpful. Pause, for me, is so negative, but breather is beautiful and full of hope. So currently in my life, I'm in a (meta)breather and a (mini)breather.

I don't know. Hopefully these thoughts are helpful - what do you think?

Postscript: I struggled to not make (meno)pause jokes the entire time I was writing this.

Tune in later for: The church experience I'm in currently versus Imagine Church