Curse You, Tom Botts!

Why am I so angry with Tom? He's actually a great guy. Tom is the author of the always entertaining and often inspiring Wilderness Blues blog. He is also the author of a book by the same title.

And that is where the problem lies... You see, yesterday I received an autographed copy of said book. It's published by the great people at Good Catch Publishing. I was giddy at the prospect of enjoying the book over the next few weeks as time would allow.

Tom is the father of one of my best friends when I lived in Hoonah as a teen. He and his family had been a part of a Christian commune of sorts not far from the logging camp where I grew up. It was near one of the best fishing streams and remember checking it out one time. Everyone called it "the farm". In the interest of being self sufficient they grew their own food and raised livestock. The farm was made up of buildings built from rough cut lumber connected by a network of boardwalks over the damp ground. Tom's book chronicles his time living at the farm and the struggle of dealing with the strict rules and ultra-conservative atmosphere.

It was Monday when the book arrived in the mail. The night before I had been up way later than normal. The boilers at the church were having issues and with temperatures dropping I helped Pastor Josh in his attempt to get them running. (And by helping I mean I stood around while Josh did all the work...) So I was operating on about 5 1/2 hours of sleep instead of my normal 7 or 8. The plan for Monday night then was to definitely be in bed by my bedtime of 10pm.

Amazingly enough, it was 9:43pm when I crawled into bed. The plan was to read a chapter or two if I could keep my tired eyes open that long. So I start reading. And reading. And reading.

A few times I had the thought that I should put the book down and go to sleep. But it would need to be after this page. Or after the next. Or the next. Or after a few more...

The conclusion of this long and pointless account: I finished the book at 12:34am. Stupid Tom. If you had wrote a book that sucked I could've gotten some sleep. Instead, I got less sleep last night then the night before.

So, curse you Tom. Curse you to heck. You are the reason I'm so tired today! The next book you write had better be a lot less engaging and entertaining. Oh, and it better be soon. Darn soon.

Wilderness Blues

I want to make a recommendation for a great blog. It's Wilderness Blues, by Tom Botts.

Tom is the father of a friend of mine when I was growing up in Hoonah. He's a great guy, and turns out he's a pretty good writer too.

I've enjoyed his blog. Not only does it give a window into life in Hoonah, he's funny.

Tom is a published author. I hear great things about his book, but have not read it yet. A certain person keeps promising to loan it to me so I can read it, but they've yet to deliver on the promise. You know who you are...

His latest post proposes a new diet that could be the newest weight loss fad. And his idea of the Taco Bell apron is genius... pure genius.

Thanks Tom for the fun. Keep it up!

Despite my claims to become more consistent in my blogging, this is the first post in a while, and I'm really only posting so I can get this image on a website so I can link to it in a forum post.
There's quite a bit of stuff I could be blogging about... My parents came up this summer and we spent some time exploring Alaska with a trip to Valdez. My nephew & niece are both here locally now, so we spent a weekend with them and took them to the fair.
I've started another round of the Financial Peace class and this weekend I get to share on personal finance at a young adult retreat.
So, there's plenty I could talk about. Lack of content is not the issue. Lack of time has a lot to do with it. And lack of an audience. I'm pretty sure my mom (hi mom...) is the only one that actually reads this. And let's face it, she's my mom. She pretty much has to read it.

What is it going to take?

The sad truth is out there. Christianity in American culture is in decline. We are no longer a Christian society in this country. Yes, the Christian faith may have been the foundation, but today it is viewed at best as old fashion and irrelevant and at worst extremist and dangerous.
So, what is it going to take to see a change?
Will more good preaching help? My iPod is FULL of great sermons from great preachers. In decades past to hear a particular preacher you either had to wait for them to come to your area or you had to travel to them. But not today. You can watch them on TV, hear them on the radio, podcast them, listen to them over the internet or order their CD's & DVD's. We have unprecedented access to as much preaching as we want to hear. But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about more Christian books? Growing up in remote logging camps meant I had no access to Christian bookstores. When we would go into town, I would always make a stop at the local bookstore to load up. Today, through the convenience of the internet almost every Christian title is available. And there are more Christian books out there than ever before. Everyone has written their book. Every subject is covered in depth. And look at your own collection. How many books do you have? But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about good worship music? I remember in the '90's when a new Vineyard album would come ou, we would kill ourselves getting to the Christian bookstore trying to get it. Now iTunes is overflowing with great, inspired, anointed worship music. And there's more songs being added all the time. And it's great stuff. But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about more church services? Church calendars are packed with activities for all ages and interests. Or more conferences? Or more Christian magazines. Or more Christian T-Shirts. Or more bumper stickers that inform the heathens that in case of rapture this car will empty. Will all this make the change we need to see in our nation?
What is it going to take?

10 Ways to Achieve Your Goals With Financial Peace University

Before you know it, the kids will be back in school, the trees will be changing colors and summer will be over. But don't let that get you down! Fall is the second New Year's, meaning it's time to readdress all those resolutions you made for yourself at the beginning of the year.
Remember all those financial, physical, spiritual and mental goals you made? Fall is the perfect time to create a schedule that allows you to meet those resolutions! And with back-to-school shopping out of the way, why not get started meeting some of these goals with the help of Financial Peace University?
The life-changing information you will learn in Financial Peace University (FPU) will help you take control of your money, but have you ever realized that money is tied to all areas of your life? Once you work toward getting your financial house in order, your other goals will follow suit and build upon each other. Here are 10 ways FPU will help you improve your money ... and your life!

1. Helps couples get on the same page with money. No more money fights! Couples learn how to make decisions about their money together.
2. Forces you to do a budget and actually use it. Guessing games are a thing of the past! Learn how to make a written plan for your money.
3. Explains the importance of an accountability partner for singles. Gain a sense of empowerment over your money by acquiring an accountability partner help you make smart decisions.
4. Shows you how to teach your kids about money. Tell your children how to save, spend and invest their money and help them make a great future for themselves!
5. Teaches you how to get out of debt—for good this time. Time to kick out Sallie Mae and get rid of the car loan! Using the debt snowball, you'll learn how to pay off your debt.
6. Lets you know what insurance you need and don't need. Learn how to cover yourself with the right type of insurance for you, your family and your assets.
7. Tells people how to bargain and get great deals. Learning how to negotiate deals will save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars!
8. Prepares you for a happy and stress-free retirement. Planning now saves you heartache and money in the long run. Figure out how you can retire with no money worries.
9. Helps parents plan ahead for their kids' college funding. If you have kids, preparing now for their college funding will save them from student loans later in life.
10. Demonstrates the importance of working in a job you love. Instead of dreading Mondays and loving Fridays, you will learn how to do work you love.

This article was taken from Dave's Newsletter. If you would like more information on my upcoming FPU class, click here...

Stop Looking For The Dramatic!

One of my favorite blogs, Stuff Christians Like, is written Jon Acuff. He had a Tweet today that is not only profound, but has a great amount of application in every day life. Here is his brilliant insight:  David didn't show up to fight Goliath. He brought lunch. Stop looking for the dramatic and be great at the little things.

 If you don't believe it, check the story out in 1 Samuel 17. Jesse sent David to his brothers. He was to bring them roasted grain and bread. And cheese for their commanding officer. (Hmmm... Another example of honoring leadership... I'll talk about that some other time...)

The problem for most of us is that we grew up in Sunday School with flannel-graphs. Right now you can picture in your mind the cut out flannel-graph of David and the five smooth stones and Goliath. You'll noticed that they never had a flannel-graph of Goliath getting his head whacked off. That would've been AWESOME. But it would've required a PG-13 rating for violence on the class. That wouldn't have gone over well. But, I digress...

So, in our minds we jump ahead in the story assume that David set out kill Goliath. He had faced the bear, he had faced the lion. He was ready for his moment of glory. He had enough of tending these smelly sheep. It's time for some fame!!

But that's not how it happened... He was doing a simple, lowly task. He was the pizza delivery boy. They probably didn't even tip him. But he was being faithful in the little things. And his faithfulness in the little things opened the door for big things. That almost sounds like something Jesus said one time...

The lesson to be learned here is this: The more time we spend dreaming about the big things while ignoring the little things the further we get from our goal. Get your head out of the clouds, get your feet on the ground and move up that mountain one step at a time.

So, what are the little things in front of you? Are you ignoring them because you are waiting for your big moment of glory?

There is more to be learned here, but I'll save that for another post...

Is it how we start, or how we end?

After a long, inexcusable absence I was working on a post last night. For whatever reason, Blogspot managed to lose about half of it. I will get that missing part retyped and get the post up soon. It'll be a good one, commenting on a recent Seth Godin post (read it here...).

In the meantime I have a thought for your reading pleasure:

This morning I slowly came awake. My alarm clock display has the option to dim it completely, so I wasn't sure of the time. I normally wake up once or twice between 4am and when my alarm goes off at 5:51am, so I assumed that it was around 5am.

Still groggy, I activated the display. It was 6.31am. I was waking up a full 40 minutes late. Which means I would be 40 minutes late for work. I hate being late for work.

My mind immediately began to try and determined what had gone wrong? Did I sleep through my alarm? Not likely. No matter how hard I'm asleep I always wake up for my alarm. Did I forget to click the switch to on? Nope, It was on. Then I looked a little closer... The alarm was set for 5.51pm, not 5.51am!! Arrghhh!

Fortunately, my boss is pretty understanding about this sort of thing, so there was no significant consequences.

But, it did get me thinking. The most common response to this sort of mistake is "what a horrible way to start the day." But this had nothing to do with how I started my day. It was all about how I ended the previous day.

And then I realized how much that concept applied to life. We have to ask ourselves: How did I finish my last assignment/mission/task? Even if I successfully completed it, did I leave a wake of destruction in my path? Did I burn bridges and ruin relationships?  Did I hurt people? Did I compromise my principles or sacrificed my integrity?

If so, then any perceived victory is empty and meaningless. I may of got the job done, the price paid is too high.

Yes, we should start strong. But we must finish even stronger.