As I record my thoughts for this post I am currently driving to my brother's from a July 4th gig in Maynard, MN.
I started the day at my brothers where they're having a day long, 4th-of -July, family gathering. Feeling a bit sorry for myself, that I would spend most of the day driving to and from my juggling gig, I hit the road.
Dont get me wrong, I was very thankful to have the work. It's just that I don't like missing out on extended family gatherings and with a 4 hour one way drive, I would miss most of it. With the exception of trying a new breakfast item at McDonalds, it was an uneventful four hour trip.
What greeted me upon arriving in Maynard: was a heartwarming example of an American small town, 4th-of-July, celebration. It started with a late morning parade down main street - in which I personally did not partake - and then moved to a park on the edge of town for a community wide picnic. They sold plates full of food, with proceeds going to support the Maynard fire department.
The park itself was an idilic setting, with an unusually sturdy stage and a suprising amount of shade. Maynard is a town of around 200 to 300, and yet this event will annually draw upwards of 400, with the best surprise of the day being, that when it was time for me, most of them were sitting waiting for my show. I've performed at a lot of small town summer events and county fairs over the years and all to often I'm up against the kiddie tractor pull-or worse yet-greased pig competitions, and have a hard time competing against them for an audience. Consequently this was a nice change.
Right before my performance, there was a flag raising ceremony put on by some boy scouts, with one of the scouts leading the whole crowd in the pledge. It was very moving and getting a little choked-up, I was unable to get all the words out. While there is certainly nothing wrong with that, it's not real helpful right before going on stage. However, the man in charge made his attempt at an introduction, the moment was gone, and I was good to go.
I did my show, packed up my stuff, and took off. As I was leaving there was something else happening on stage, with more activities planned late into the afternoon, and I'm sure, many people lingering and fellowshipping together long after the official events had ended.
As I drive back to my brother's, looking forward to some 4th-of-July celebrating with my family, and reminisce on the day so far, two thoughts come to mind . . .
First, thank you Maynard for showing me the quintessential, small town, 4th-of-July celebration. And secondly, is a strong, soul filling, sense of thankfulness: thankful that a sence of community that strong still exists in our country, thankful for the freedoms that we have and all that the 4th-of-July stands for, and thankful that I live in country where I can go do what I did today, to earn a living.
So to close this entry and to sum it all up: nothing seems more fitting than the doxology.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above the heavenly host
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost
AMEN
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
Golf As A Sport
I know, I know, what are you talking about, golf already is a sport. Then why do they always refer to is as a the "game" of golf? Besides, I'm speaking for those of us who believe that if you don't go aerobic, it doesn't qualify as a sport.
Just so we're clear, I do play on occasion and I do enjoy the game. I also appreciate the physical skill involved, especially when played at the professional level. However, I always find my self wanting to jog to the ball (completly doable with one of those two wheeled carts) and in general just move the game along faster. Yesterday after playing with my father-in-law, I had the idea.
Timed golf!
That's right—fastest time wins!
You stagger the starts like in bicycle time trials (maybe while the player ahead is teeing off at the second hole the next player starts) and the players run to their ball pushing their bag on of those little two wheeled carts.Then at the end of the round you add or take away time depending on the player's score. One minute taken off the player's time for each number under par (5 under take 5 minutes off) and one minute added for each number over par. In order to swing at their best, the pros would have the added dimension of having to learn how to lower their heart rates in just a few seconds like the biatheletes do when they're coming into the shooting stations.
In addition to making golf more physical and intersesting to watch, it would also create a market for a whole new line of products: running golf shoes, lite weight bags and carts, high performance wheels on the carts, and I'm sure there's a lot more that I haven't thought of.
Golf courses could have specific times when Golf Running is available and easily run more people through than normal, therefore, making more money.
Everybody wins!
I can see it now. . . a Kenyon who's crossed over into golf, runs up to the last green, sinks a 15 footer for birdie and becomes the first person ever to win both the Boston Marathon and the US Open, while on the side lines, an aging Tiger Woods simply shakes his head and sighs.
I'll try and get back to more meaningful content on the next post.
Just so we're clear, I do play on occasion and I do enjoy the game. I also appreciate the physical skill involved, especially when played at the professional level. However, I always find my self wanting to jog to the ball (completly doable with one of those two wheeled carts) and in general just move the game along faster. Yesterday after playing with my father-in-law, I had the idea.
Timed golf!
That's right—fastest time wins!
You stagger the starts like in bicycle time trials (maybe while the player ahead is teeing off at the second hole the next player starts) and the players run to their ball pushing their bag on of those little two wheeled carts.Then at the end of the round you add or take away time depending on the player's score. One minute taken off the player's time for each number under par (5 under take 5 minutes off) and one minute added for each number over par. In order to swing at their best, the pros would have the added dimension of having to learn how to lower their heart rates in just a few seconds like the biatheletes do when they're coming into the shooting stations.
In addition to making golf more physical and intersesting to watch, it would also create a market for a whole new line of products: running golf shoes, lite weight bags and carts, high performance wheels on the carts, and I'm sure there's a lot more that I haven't thought of.
Golf courses could have specific times when Golf Running is available and easily run more people through than normal, therefore, making more money.
Everybody wins!
I can see it now. . . a Kenyon who's crossed over into golf, runs up to the last green, sinks a 15 footer for birdie and becomes the first person ever to win both the Boston Marathon and the US Open, while on the side lines, an aging Tiger Woods simply shakes his head and sighs.
I'll try and get back to more meaningful content on the next post.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Rain Boots and Romance
A few weeks ago, I bought my first pair of rain boots. To be perfectly honest, it's entirely likely that I had some rain boots as a child, however if I did, I have no specific memories associated with them. So at the ripe old age of 43, I purchased my first rain boots. Understand, I don't have a muddy stall where we keep horses, a yard that puddles up after a good rain, or a swamp that I need to wade in to fish out the occasional soccer ball. So why the boots?
Romance!
No, Robin (my wife) doesn't like taking long walks in the rain. That's not the type of romance I'm talking about. I'm talking about the romancing of the heart — or hearts to be more precise — of my children. How do rain boots fit into all of this? There in lies the tale.
For the last couple of months, I've been working my way through an excellent book entitled Romancing Your Child's Heart by Monte Swan. He uses the idea of romance to describe how we should be working to win our children's hearts to ourselves and to God — also, that there is a rival vying for our children's affections.
"We are not the only ones who want to win our children's hearts. We have a rival, a suitor with sinister designs—the villain of our fairytale. His name is Satan." page 81
The author came upon this idea of "Romance" while looking into his own upbringing and trying to figure out — in raising himself and his brothers — just what it was his own parents had done so successfully.
". . . when the world began to woo me, my mother and father chose to fight for my heart—not by building a wall around me, but by out-romancing the competition." page 13
Romancing Your Child's Heart is one of those books that should be issued with the birth of a child and does a wonderful, thought-provoking job: of encouraging, challenging, and equipping parents in the fight for their children's hearts.
I know, what happened to the rain boots? We'll get back there I promise.
One of the avenues of romance is through a child's sense of wonder, and more specifically, how it relates to creation and the worship of God.
"Wonder is only a heartbeat away from worship. It is the natural reaction to belief in God . . . We honor him when we live gladly in a state of wonder because of His works . . ." page 215
Job 37:14 Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things.
"Clearly, God's creation is far more that just a pretty backdrop to life." page 21
I feel the same way and want to do what I can to help my children have a wonder and joy about God's creation.
"When children wonder at the world around them, they maybe the closest of all people to comprehending the reality of God." page 217
With all this in my head, it occurred to me that none of us had rain boots and simply weren't prepared to play out in the rain, or go exploring in the nearby creeks, which, after having just read the book, seemed like a worthwhile thing to do. So, with two children in tow, we headed to our local Wal-Mart and booted up.
I told you we'd get back.
With boots in hand (so to speak) we headed to the water fall at our local nature center. It's about nine feet high, five feet wide and unless there's been a hard rain or spring thaw, the water runs over only about a foot of that five feet.
Before we move any further, I to want bring up another idea from the book. The whole point of our outing was to have some fun, build relationship, and enjoy a small portion of God's glorious creation. In a word: romance. Simple right? Well, In any romantic adventure, we have to be careful not to let our idea of what the adventure should be, get in the way of the enjoyment that our children will have naturally. In other words, we shouldn't let our "mission" take precedent over the child's "mission" or lack there of.
"Instead of relating to Dawson—which was why I had taken him fishing in the first place!—I was having a relationship with a mission." page 94
We broke our boots in by wading around below the falls and then moved up to the top where the real fun began. We had brought with a couple of Polly Pocket dolls which were snugly wrapped in bandana and placed in an empty peanut butter jar (plastic). That's right — over the falls. We fired up our best imaginations, and we sent Polly and her friend over the raging Niagara . . . they lived. After that we explored the stream up a ways, down a ways, and threw sticks in the pond on the other side of the road; all the while Polly and her friend having various assorted adventures, unwilling thrust upon them.
During all this, I simply tried to follow, directing only when it seemed appropriate. Kids know what they're doing; our job at a time like this is to simply join in the fun. When children play they are truly unselfconscious — forgetting about self — and we do our best romancing when we are engaged at that same level.
"Our primary role is to participate in a childlike way, by engaging our own five senses, and our hearts, in a shared, uncomplicated experience." page 220
Sara Groves has a song entitled I Can't Wait about all the things she's going to teach her baby boy as he grows up, and more importantly: what she is going to learn from him. The chorus is:
And you'll teach me of hearts and dreams
And all the most important things
And all that I have lost upon the way
And I can't wait
It's wonderful song and so true. We become so self-conscious and "grown-up" that we end up looking at our little ones and (as the song asks) wonder:
How do you sleep so peacefully?
How do trust unflinchingly?
How do you love so faithfully?
How do you dance so joyfully?
Good questions, and nothing like some rain-boots and heart romancing to build a relationship were we can get close enough to find out.
Other good quotes from the book:
"Unconditional love, grace, and their faith in me quenched any rebellion before it arose in my heart" page 13
"Children have emotional "tanks" that need to be filled. . . . But if we don't fill their tanks, they will eventually get them filled somewhere else, and possibly respond to another—a false—romance." page 131
". . . we must step down from the self-importance of our adult world in order to communicate and connect with our children." page 147 (gives me an idea for a future topic — well see)
"Can a parent—particularly a father—afford the luxury of a childlike heart? A better question is, can we afford not to be childlike, if we want to romance our children's hearts?" page 163
I would also be interested in any books you think qualify for "should be issued with the birth of a child" status and why.
Romance!
No, Robin (my wife) doesn't like taking long walks in the rain. That's not the type of romance I'm talking about. I'm talking about the romancing of the heart — or hearts to be more precise — of my children. How do rain boots fit into all of this? There in lies the tale.
For the last couple of months, I've been working my way through an excellent book entitled Romancing Your Child's Heart by Monte Swan. He uses the idea of romance to describe how we should be working to win our children's hearts to ourselves and to God — also, that there is a rival vying for our children's affections.
"We are not the only ones who want to win our children's hearts. We have a rival, a suitor with sinister designs—the villain of our fairytale. His name is Satan." page 81
The author came upon this idea of "Romance" while looking into his own upbringing and trying to figure out — in raising himself and his brothers — just what it was his own parents had done so successfully.
". . . when the world began to woo me, my mother and father chose to fight for my heart—not by building a wall around me, but by out-romancing the competition." page 13
Romancing Your Child's Heart is one of those books that should be issued with the birth of a child and does a wonderful, thought-provoking job: of encouraging, challenging, and equipping parents in the fight for their children's hearts.
I know, what happened to the rain boots? We'll get back there I promise.
One of the avenues of romance is through a child's sense of wonder, and more specifically, how it relates to creation and the worship of God.
"Wonder is only a heartbeat away from worship. It is the natural reaction to belief in God . . . We honor him when we live gladly in a state of wonder because of His works . . ." page 215
Job 37:14 Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things.
"Clearly, God's creation is far more that just a pretty backdrop to life." page 21
I feel the same way and want to do what I can to help my children have a wonder and joy about God's creation.
"When children wonder at the world around them, they maybe the closest of all people to comprehending the reality of God." page 217
With all this in my head, it occurred to me that none of us had rain boots and simply weren't prepared to play out in the rain, or go exploring in the nearby creeks, which, after having just read the book, seemed like a worthwhile thing to do. So, with two children in tow, we headed to our local Wal-Mart and booted up.
I told you we'd get back.
With boots in hand (so to speak) we headed to the water fall at our local nature center. It's about nine feet high, five feet wide and unless there's been a hard rain or spring thaw, the water runs over only about a foot of that five feet.
Before we move any further, I to want bring up another idea from the book. The whole point of our outing was to have some fun, build relationship, and enjoy a small portion of God's glorious creation. In a word: romance. Simple right? Well, In any romantic adventure, we have to be careful not to let our idea of what the adventure should be, get in the way of the enjoyment that our children will have naturally. In other words, we shouldn't let our "mission" take precedent over the child's "mission" or lack there of.
"Instead of relating to Dawson—which was why I had taken him fishing in the first place!—I was having a relationship with a mission." page 94
We broke our boots in by wading around below the falls and then moved up to the top where the real fun began. We had brought with a couple of Polly Pocket dolls which were snugly wrapped in bandana and placed in an empty peanut butter jar (plastic). That's right — over the falls. We fired up our best imaginations, and we sent Polly and her friend over the raging Niagara . . . they lived. After that we explored the stream up a ways, down a ways, and threw sticks in the pond on the other side of the road; all the while Polly and her friend having various assorted adventures, unwilling thrust upon them.
During all this, I simply tried to follow, directing only when it seemed appropriate. Kids know what they're doing; our job at a time like this is to simply join in the fun. When children play they are truly unselfconscious — forgetting about self — and we do our best romancing when we are engaged at that same level.
"Our primary role is to participate in a childlike way, by engaging our own five senses, and our hearts, in a shared, uncomplicated experience." page 220
Sara Groves has a song entitled I Can't Wait about all the things she's going to teach her baby boy as he grows up, and more importantly: what she is going to learn from him. The chorus is:
And you'll teach me of hearts and dreams
And all the most important things
And all that I have lost upon the way
And I can't wait
It's wonderful song and so true. We become so self-conscious and "grown-up" that we end up looking at our little ones and (as the song asks) wonder:
How do you sleep so peacefully?
How do trust unflinchingly?
How do you love so faithfully?
How do you dance so joyfully?
Good questions, and nothing like some rain-boots and heart romancing to build a relationship were we can get close enough to find out.
Other good quotes from the book:
"Unconditional love, grace, and their faith in me quenched any rebellion before it arose in my heart" page 13
"Children have emotional "tanks" that need to be filled. . . . But if we don't fill their tanks, they will eventually get them filled somewhere else, and possibly respond to another—a false—romance." page 131
". . . we must step down from the self-importance of our adult world in order to communicate and connect with our children." page 147 (gives me an idea for a future topic — well see)
"Can a parent—particularly a father—afford the luxury of a childlike heart? A better question is, can we afford not to be childlike, if we want to romance our children's hearts?" page 163
I would also be interested in any books you think qualify for "should be issued with the birth of a child" status and why.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Everybody is doing it...
Dems do it, geeks do it,
Even my brother and niece do it.
Let's post an entry, let's start a blog.
So with the addition of my brother and niece to just about everybody else out there, I decided it was time for me to join the fray and post some entries of my own... let the blogging begin.
For my first entry, I'm simply going to talk about how I came to the point, like so many before me, of actually signing up for my very own little corner of cyber space, dedicated solely to me and whatever it is I would like to say. (A very different proposition from my website, which is strictly a business tool.)
As I write this, I am starting to come to the full realization of the enormous pressure and magnitude of the endeavor that I have undertaken. After all, once this is posted, theoretically, just about anybody in the world could conceivably read this. (Although, if I can just get my mom and a few relatives to take a look, I'd be happy.) News commentators have blogs, famous writers have blogs, people who think long and hard about important issues and then come up with important things to say have blogs, Bono has a blog, so who am I to think I should have a blog.
It all started with an email from my brother informing us (his family) that he had joined the Kingdom of Blog, and that his daughter, had not only become a citizen herself, but had in fact arrived a day before him. I clicked the link in his email, making the first fateful move, and was reading his entries, followed immediately by my nieces entry. I was impressed, I was moved, I thought, but most importantly, I left a comment. At the bottom of each entry is a link you can click to view and leave comments, I clicked, I typed out my comment, I clicked to submit my comment and it said I must become a member, and sign up for my own blog space in order to leave my comment. Fine! I spent all that time writing my comment, I wasn't going to let it go to waste. I signed up, I left my comment, I got blogged.
By default I have a blog. Now what? I could just leave it there hanging in cyber space waiting endlessly for content, meaningful or otherwise, or I could use this as an exercise in creativity and actually write something. I have decided on the latter, although there are those who might suggest that if I'm bothering to write something, how about a little new material for the show.
So here I sit, writing my first entry and wondering if in future entries I'll have anything to say. I'm not involved in politics, world problems, or any of the "really big" issues, I don't even watch American Idol (there's got to be hundreds of Blogs on that topic alone). I'm just your average American variety entertainer trying to be a good and loving husband, and an encouraging loving father, that does the right thing...
On second thought, I guess I am involved in really important issues, and who knows, I just might have something worth saying after all.
PS In the interest of full discolsure I don't actually know if Bono has a blog, but it does seem likely.
Also, my blog is set up so that you may leave a comment without being required to sign-up.
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