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Showing posts from 2011

Lucky 13!

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12/24 is my 13th anniversary since completing my final cancer treatment. Those days seem so long ago and at the same time are completely etched into who I am. Every year at this time I think of the blessing that is my wonderful life. I am thankful for my continued good health, the joy of my family, the amazing Scouts, my job and most of all the love of my Lord. Once again I hope to honor this time by making the most of it every day. I hope you too will pause at some point over the next few days imagine your life as it really is. It is life worth living with gusto and passion. It is a life that should be filled with laughter, love and adventure. Most of all, it is a life that should be dedicated to being a positive servant to those around you. We only get one chance to impact this world and I hope your life however long makes a difference! Merry Christmas!

Dear 16 year old me.....

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An amazing and powerful video about melanoma. I was one of those with the less than 10% chance of survival and here I am living the thriving 13 years later. I count December 24th as my cancer free anniversary as that was the last day of my final radiation treatment. It is wonderful in many ways to have this important milestone on such an important day. Those days seem so long ago and yet remain so very vivid in my mind and a part of who I am. Please share the video with someone you love. Maybe it will help save a life!

The attitude epidemic....

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“The world is what we think it is. If we can change our thoughts we can change the world” H.M. Tomlison A funny thing about attitudes is that they are as contagious as colds. We truly tend to catch whichever ones we surround ourselves with most. No one is immune. I have often found myself in a circle of negativity fully participating in the downtrodden conversation about how terrible this or that or him or she is. Soon thereafter upon reflection, I often end up feeling a genuine sense of shame that I chose to take part and more importantly chose to enable. There was a day during my chemotherapy that served as perhaps the best reminder. I was sitting quietly in the waiting room before the start of my treatments when the nurse came in to get the gentleman sitting next to me. This guy was in obvious pain and poor health. The nurse asked, “How are you today?” Without missing a beat he replied, “Wonderful! My eyes opened this morning and the Lord has blessed me with another day” Ho

Storms are a comin'

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Seems like this last year I have done a pretty poor job of keeping up to post regularly here. Call it distractions, general busyness or perhaps just a lack of inspiration. It seems so easy to get caught up in the malaise of life’s routine. While in a crises or nearing the completion of some great objective motivation abounds but in times of plenty it can be hard to move forward and easy to slow down. The hardest of times for me are when things are going well. That is when it is easy to forget to take time to be alone with God. That is when it is easy to take time to forget to tell loved ones how much I care. That is when it is easy for me to skip the gym or have that extra piece of pie. These little things in the end add up to a time of greatest danger. After all, life is a series of storms and the good times are simply an eye before the next one. Therefore I am mostly writing to myself today as a simple reminder to stay strong and to stay steadfast. If you are in a time of pa

I am the problem

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My son had his challenge day experience at PC North recently and the other day I asked him a question out of curiosity and his answer was as powerful as it was challenging. Dad, “So how was your Challenge Day?” Son, “Good” Dad, “Curiosity question for you…It seems every time a teen really opens up to me about the pain he or she is experiencing the root of it all seems to always go back to the parents. Usually it is the conversation flows about divorce, money arguments, lack of love and more. What were the pain points in your group?” Son—“Same” “I bet it makes you sad that your generation is causing all of these troubles huh?” Wow now that hit me in the gut for sure ! Yes son it does make me sad and you will recall from my Ignite OKC talk last year it also makes me angry. Parents wake up! We are very much a part of the problem and it is time to take a hard look in the mirror and take a personal assessment of who we are as parents. Are you being courageous in your co

Challenge Day 2011

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A couple of weeks ago I had the blessing to participate in the Putnam City West High School challenge day. Challenge day is an amazing program that the Putnam City Schools Foundation brings to all High School Freshman at a considerable expense. This program is made possible through generous donations from individuals and businesses from the area community. I can say with full passion that it is worth every penny. I have no doubt that at the very least it helps kids with the transition to high school. I also have no doubt that the program also saves lives of youth through the positive and healing message it brings. One look into the tear filled eyes of a teen that has just opened up perhaps for the first time about the pain he/she is experiencing and you would fully understand. It has never been easy to be a teen in our world and now the pressures go well beyond what many of us adults have ever faced or will ever understand. There are of course the big things you would stereotyp

Can't buy me love...but you can buy me a new car

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My son recently turned 14 which means he is just a very short time away from him being car eligible. My first car was a 1974 Pontiac Ventura that I paid $400 for and then had painted a beautiful metallic blue. (see picture). Really it was a piece of junk and given my non-existent mechanical skills I was certainly no help to make it better but the car did do the job to get me from A to B. The good news also was that it was so bad I did not have to worry about spending extra gas to drive friends around. Now with the son just a couple of years from car age the dilemma of how to handle this is very much on the family radar. A car payment, $3.50+ a gallon gas and outrageous car insurance has the potential to be a tremendous burden especially with college tuition on the way soon too. Just the other day I saw a picture of a friend of mine’s daughter standing next to a beautiful brand new Dodge Charger and it got me to thinking about the pros and cons of how a car at 16 is handled by pare

A letter to Conner

Yesterday was the first day of high school for Conner and he turns 14 today. It just amazes me to think that we are now parents of high school kid. It really seems like yesterday when Michelle and I were changing diapers and taking turns with late night feedings. Now we take turns as a shuttle service from activity to activity and the late night feedings are more along the lines of trips to Peachwave. We know that soon even that will end with a car or at least buddies with cars. Our journey through parenthood has been an incredible one and we honestly could not have asked for a better child. God has truly blessed our family. Son—These next few years are going to be an amazing time for you. Our prayer as your mom and dad is that you will live a life of boldness. A life founded on a steadfast belief in Christ, in yourself, in serving others, in hard work, in education and in personal honor. You will question who you are and you will be faced with many pressures you have not experie

Sacrifice

Sacrifice  This week Oklahoma lost four of our sons in Afgahnistan. No I did not know any of these soldiers but looking at their pictures in the paper in uniform next to the American flag I became overwhelmed with a real sense of sadness. Sadness for the families forever changed and in a way for our country in general. While these incredible men and women are giving their lives for us daily we sit in our comfortable little worlds mostly oblivious. Meanwhile our "representatives" swap our futures away in exchange for petty self interest on both sides. It seems the majority of us have never lived the word. We don't know what it means to forget the self and feel some real personal pain for the other. I used to think I knew sacrifice. I live below my means, I give my time as a volunteer and give a buck or two now and then. In reality though I have sacrificed little in my life and I bet most of you ride that same bus with me. Together let's: Put away the credit

Rough road ahead

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Wouldn’t it be great if God placed little signs along our life road to let us know when trouble was on the way? This would give us the opportunity to slow down, take a different route or on some days just not get out at all. The truth is that in reality there is always rough road ahead. Life is hard and there is just no getting around that fact. My lack of blogging these last few months is due in many ways to a season of roughness recently. I would be less than honest if I did not admit that it has been a challenging time in many ways. The loss of my mother law, family pet, a job responsibility change and few other things have all combined at once to lead me back to a white flag time of life. Some people I know in these times fall apart and seek answers to the whys or perhaps lash out against family, friends or God in desperate attempts to restore balance and discover answers. It can be as simple as drama filled tirades or perhaps destructive personal actions with overeating, depres

Middle School is over

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Conner completed middle school this week and soon he will be in high school. It is a well-worn cliché to say “they grow up so fast” but indeed it is true. In the grand scheme of my overall life the years we have with our son living with us are so incredibly limited. This home time is made even shorter with the ever busy schedule of a teenage boy and a dad working the grind of a busy career. Funny thing, just last week I spoke to a group about finding success through managing priorities versus time and here I am struggling to do the same myself. I think it in reality takes daily effort and the openness to realize that everything in life is a season. Sometimes in the midst of all the madness we need to pause and see where time is going and where we are placing our priorities. I know that in these next four years Conner will take the steps to fully head down the path of being a man. I also know that this is the time that we as parents will need to step more and more back and begin t

My IgniteOKC 3 Experience

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“I always knew I had my father’s love. What I really wanted though was his time” This was one of the more powerful comments I heard from an audience member after my Igniteokc 3 talk recently. Ignite is an amazing grass roots event where everyday folks are given the opportunity to speak on a topic with just 5 minutes and 20 slides that move automatically. Topics are as diverse as the speakers and range from how to’s to important social issues. All the speakers this year did a fantastic job and showed great courage to jump out and speak. Thankfully the crowd was friendly and the atmosphere electrifying. The talk I submitted was based on a recent blog post of mine that I felt a particular passion about and had received a tremendous amount of positive feedback. Clearly based on the reaction this topic struck a chord and I am so thankful to IgniteOKC and the those involved in the selection process for picking my topic. I hope you will watch and share the talk with a dad yo

A Happy Valentine's

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Yesterday was Valentine’s Day and as usual I rounded up some goodies for the Mrs. including dark chocolate and a sweet card. My son and I joined together on our expedition of love two weeks ago. This was a teachable moment about some Valentine giving rules. Number one of course being: 1. Don’t be lame! It cracks me up every year to see the panicked men at the drug or grocery store the evening of the 14th pilfering through the leftovers for a card that will give a slight glimpse into the heart of love he has for his sweetie. The lesson for the son was to be sure and plan for the big day well in advance to ensure the only the best card and best candies make the cut. My wife of course believes the same as is evidenced by the wonderful card she chose. Clearly given that I had picked out the very same card for her we are two brilliant masters of love that are just meant to be together. Later that evening came the greatest gift of all when our 13 year old son in his prayers than

Bad dads piss me off

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There I said it. My father died when I was very young shortly after my mother and father had divorced. As hard as I have tried, I have no memories of my father and I do not recall my mother ever sharing stories with me as a child about the kind of man he was. One of the very few pictures of me with my dad. That is my back Growing up a fatherless boy in a single parent household had a tremendous impact on my youth. It did not help that I was overweight, awkward and very shy. Not having a father became a focus to everything I perceived as wrong in my life. I just knew if I had a dad around he would be teaching me everything I wanted to be and was not. I would know how to be athletic, fix things, be thin, talk to girls, be smart, make friends, and more. Eventually when I was in 8th grade my mother remarried but unfortunately the man that became my stepfather and I never connected. Fast forward to August 19th 1997. On this day I became a father. I will admit that I was terrifi

I love Mondays

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I have a confession. I love Mondays. What? Yes I know most people hate Mondays and comments putting down the day are quite common. Of course there are those “back to the salt mine” and other references to the drudgery of another work week that we hear often on this day. Here’s the deal. I see every Monday as a little Jan 1st. It is an opportunity to start fresh and step into week of new goals and promises. The mistakes and missteps of last week are gone and my life is once again a blank page. What will I accomplish this week? What meetings to I need to plan? What performance at work do I need to impact? How many miles does my training schedule say I need to run? What is my nutrition plan to be healthy? What steps can I take this week to honor God? These are just a few questions I find myself asking every Monday morning. I choose to live for the weekends AND I choose to live for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as well. Face it. The majority of our lives take place du

Going for Great

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“If you keep doing what you have always done you will keep getting what you have always got” This is one of the most powerful statements I have ever heard and I posted it up as a theme as I wrote my 2011 goals. I think one of the greatest dangers in life is success as it can lead to complacency. You reach that weight loss goal, stop eating right and soon the weight starts to creep back on. You finish the marathon and the post run workout break soon becomes months of inactivity. You finally get that job you dreamed and worked so hard for and then stop learning and growing. I have seen this in my own life many times. Good is indeed the enemy of great. I am planning to get radical in 2011. I do not want to be comfortable and content. I want and plan to seek the pain of challenge and of risk. What about you? If you have not taken a deep personal assessment of what you are going to do differently do it now and post it somewhere that will drive you forward. Step out this year an

Getting healthy thanks to Android and my HTC EVO from Sprint

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Like many of you I am using the New Year as an opportunity to refocus on my health and shed the pounds I picked up thanks to all the yummy holiday food over the previous two months. This year I have a new arsenal of weapons in my war against girth thanks to my wonderful HTC EVO and the Android market. The key to losing weight I have found over the years is not to diet but instead focus on healthy eating habits and to make in an all in family lifestyle choice. Diets simply do not work because they are temporary and mentally indicate you are “on a program”. Programs have a beginning and an ending vs. a lifestyle which is simply ongoing. Losing weight through a life style change then becomes easy and simple. Keys for me have been: • No fried foods • No sodas—Including diet • Minimal processed foods and sugar • No snacks after 8PM • Four small meals a day • Focus on fresh fruits and vegetables • Lower intensity cardio over a longer period of time • Weight lifting •