THE LAST LECTURE

I just watched the “last lecture” video on youtube by professor Randy Pausch, 47, of Carnegie Mellon University who just recently died of cancer.

My favorite quote during the lecture: “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!” – from The Last Lecture

Another great quote: “…experience is something you get when you don’t get what you want.”

If you have ever faced a great challenge in your life, this lecture is well worth the time to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

family

THE FAMILY TREE IS GROWING

Last night I was reminded again that my daughter’s wedding date of October 25th, is just around the corner.

What reminded me was the Adam (her fiancée) came over to the house to help move some of Natascha’s furniture into the house they will be moving into this October.

I know the saying goes something like this….”you are not losing a daughter, you are gaining a son in law.”

Brenda and I are blessed to have such a great young man added to our family.

Adam serves as one of the pastor’s here at the church and is doing a great job.

I am really looking forward to watching the new couple bringing a brand new branch to the family.

Natascha is a great inspiration and one tough girl when it comes to biking and hiking.

Tash and dad on our Havasupai hike here in Arizona.

Tash did awesome on the Whiskey Off Road Mountain bike endurance race here in Prescott.

family

δίπλωµα greek word for diploma, meaning “folded paper”

This weekend our son Caleb recieved his diploma in the mail from Full Sail University.

Really proud of him for all of his accomplishments throughout the years!

I remember things like making our father son tree house in Missouri, building a toy box out of scrap wood in Cincinnati, building a trailer with his grandfather in Iowa, and the hundreds of outdoor explorations we have done together….and then watching him pack up all his belogings and moving to Orlando to follow his dream.

Here are a couple of pictures Caleb reluctantly allowed me to take yesterday of the very exspensive piece of “folded paper” before he left for Flagstaff.

He now works with Deckers Outdoor Corporation in Flagstaff Az. http://www.deckers.com/index.aspx in their web design department.

GREAT JOB BIG GUY!

Just a side note:

Full Sail University is Named “School/College of the Year”

WINTER PARK, FL, July 24, 2008 – Today, in an awards ceremony in Aventura, FL, Full Sail University (www.fullsail.edu) was named “School/College of the Year” by the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools & Colleges (FAPSC).

Ministry

Namibia Africa Report

Today was one of those Sundays that in my estimation “ROCKED”.

It is fantastic to see our people do God’s work on the earth in a way that I think makes His heart smile.

Kate Pressman is one of those people that takes all this “Kingdom of God” stuff pretty seriously and we are all affected by the “shadow of her influence.”

This morning we welcomed Kate back from a two month ministry tour in Namibia africa.

The report was filled with tears and testimony of what can be done if we will all just do what we can.

Thanks Kate for the gift you bring to Brenda and I, your church, and the world.

OUR ENTIRE FAMILY LOVES YOU KATE!

marriage

I just gotta say thanks

This is almost impossible to put into words.

Because of the enormity of the task to espress my gratitude to Brenda I will have to make this blog entry short and simple.

I know God has given me the best bride on the globe.

Over the past month this girl has gone the “second mile”.

While I am thinking of it, that is what she has done our entire relationship of almost 28 years of fabulos marriage.

AMAZING WOMAN!!!

THE BEST LIFE PARTNER I COULD IMAGINE IS A REALITY.

what I am working on right now

THE SHADOW OF INFLUENCE

This weekend I will do a teaching called the shadow of influence.

Really looking forward to exploring how our influence impacts people our entire lives and beyond.

I am looking at Acts 5:13-15 that talks about the time when people would bring their friends and family and lay them along the street so that “at least” Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them.

The passage goes onto say that everyone was healed.

It is also said that in India people would try to position themselves in a way that Mahatma Gandi would pass over them….ummm?

Wow, to be able to help people at that level would be unimaginable.

Here are my thought points I am developing.

1. OUR INFLUENCE IS ALWAYS ACTIVE.

2. OUR INFLUENCE IS MOSTLY UNCONSCIOUS

3. OUR INFLUENCE LIVES BEYOND US

4. OUR INFLUENCE IS IRREVOCABLE.

Phillip Brooks says;

“no man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure and good, without the world being better for it.”

“I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.” – anonymous

Really looking forward to this teaching.

what I am working on right now

NEGATIVE PEOPLE MOTIVATE ME

I hope this blog post doesn’t bumb you out but rather motivates you.

This afternoon I almost took my cast off a month early!

I came home from the office after a long day of meetings and phone calls.

With crutches I was headed toward the front door of my house with my wife and then it happened…..The voice from the road in front of our home came toward me like a audience of cynical spectators… “what happened to you” …..did you fall off your bike?” The question was surrounded with almost a laugh from a neighbor who walks his dog past my castle everyday.

It wasn’t the first phrase that fired me up….nope, it was his second grouping of bad weather words that almost motivated me to go into my garage and get my gig saw and cut my cast off and start physical therapy tonight.

As he continued to walk by he said, “you’ll never be the same” and then he threw in a quote by Clint Eastwood we all know, “A mans got to know his limitations”. And then he was gone.

He was gone but his negative words and negative outlook on my outcome have helped me make up my mind to be back on my bike quicker than expected.

I’m not being over sensitive or unfair to this guy, I have always known him to have a negative view of life since I have known him.

I feel sorry for negative people…….but I don’t have to feel sorry for myself for having to be around them. They actually make me want to prove them wrong.

In the mean time, here are a few suggestions when you have to be around a Grinch.

1. Keep moving forward toward your goals

. movement forward generates motivation. A sense of pride in yourself will follow.

2. Separate yourself from that negative person. Don’t listen to their negativity or change the subject.

3. Set personal goals The spirit of inspiration and motivation continues by driving for results.

4. Don’t take someone else’s negativity personally. Let it roll off your back and let their negative attitude motivate you to focus more on your goals and proving the negative voice wrong.

5 Choose to fight or take flight. Most of the negative people are not going to change their outlook on life, so chose your wars wisely.

Side note #1 …..I still have my cast on….the voice of wisdom and my wife win.

Side note #2……I can’t wait to ride past Mr. Grinch’s house on my bike soon.

Thank you Mr. Grinch for the motivation 🙂

Life Goals

ONE OF MY LIFE GOALS….RIDING RAGBRAI

Today a 36 six year old tradition began.

One of my life goals is to be able to ride RAGBRAI

RAGBRAI is a bike ride across Iowa.

The ride started in 1973 by two riders and today almost 10,000 people ride across my home state of Iowa in the annual RAGBRAI ride across Iowa..

The RAGBRAI route averages 472 miles and is not necessarily flat. It begins somewhere along Iowa’s western border on the Missouri River and ends along the eastern border on the Mississippi River.

It is a week long ride across the corn feilds of IOWA.

I will start now to make preparations for the 2009 ride across Iowa

Next year’s RAGBRAI is July 19 – 25, 2009 – RAGBRAI XXXVI.

http://www.ragbrai.org

I will update you on my progress and trainning for the ride throughout this next year.

what I am working on right now

PEOPLE THAT LEAVE A MARK

For 28 years I have visited people in the hospital or at least did my best to follow up on the sick, the injured or the one who just needed a visit.

I have always felt a compassion on people who for one reason or another have been knocked down in life.

Maybe I do it out of ministry duty or being taught all my life that no matter how busy you are, people who need a visit should be visited and encouraged.

Well, today the tables were turned.

After week three of no driving a car, no walks in the woods, no mtn. bike, and no anything that I enjoy, I was getting “cabin fever ” pretty bad until some mountain bike buddies showed up at my front door to visit me.

WOW, it was great to laugh, joke and to see my friends again.

I usually ride with these guys at least once or twice a week and today they came over to the house after their 22 mile ride.

Pictured below are:

(left to right) Jack, Billy, Joni, Coomsie, Middlemore and the famous Steve Becker

These guys are all top level mountain bikers and I have learned so much from them all.