A fun, comfy spot to rest
A good book to read
A friend to sit next to and read with
A friend to learn with and play with
Friends to sing and dance with
Don't be fooled.
These are very important for all of us to remember, especially for myself.
Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts
Lessons From Pre-School Photos
The following photos of Lainey at pre-school today reminded me of things that make life great:
A fun, comfy spot to rest
A good book to read
A friend to sit next to and read with
A friend to learn with and play with
Friends to sing and dance with
Don't be fooled.
These are very important for all of us to remember, especially for myself.
A fun, comfy spot to rest
A good book to read
A friend to sit next to and read with
A friend to learn with and play with
Friends to sing and dance with
Don't be fooled.
These are very important for all of us to remember, especially for myself.
Ethanol and The Dust Bowl
Lisa and I recently watched the Ken Burns' documentary "The Dust Bowl". It was very interesting, very informative and very moving. The stories featured told of the causes of that environmental catastrophe, the impact of the event on the people in the area and the fragility of the land. It featured a lot from Timothy Eagan's wonderfully written book on the subject "The Worst Hard Time" - I highly recommend reading it.Today I read this article "The Secret, Dirty Cost of Obama's Green Power Push" which details how the EPA, Department of Agriculture and the White House have pursued pushing ethanol as a sustainable biofuel, when the evidence is more and more to the contrary.
There are several things stated in the article that brought to mind the Dust Bowl, but this one really stood out to me:
This is similar to what happened in the 1920s when the cost of grain skyrocketed and the government expanded homestead settlement programs. Investors from the big city or even out of state would purchase acreage or pay to farm someone's previously untouched existing acreage. The land hadn't previously been planted with crops because it was unsuitable for that type of farming. The huge increase in demand and price led to a boom of converting prairie land to farm land. Yet the fact remained, the newly converted land was historically known as not being suitable for crops. When the unusually wet years turned back to the normal dry years, the ground dried out and the soil began to erode and blow. When the drought of the 30s hit the former prairie lands, there was nothing to hold the soil down and it literally took off with the wind.Investors from as far away as Maryland and Pennsylvania have bought thousands of acres in Wayne County, sending prices skyrocketing from $350 per acre a decade ago to $5,000 today.One in every four acres of in the county is now owned by an out-of-towner.
Those who still own land often rent it to farming companies offering $300 or more per acre. Perkins could make perhaps $27,000 a year if he let somebody plant corn on his land. That's nothing to dismiss in a county where typical household income is $36,000.
But he knows what that means. He sees the black streaks in his neighbor's cornfields, knowing the topsoil washes away with every rain. He doesn't want that for his family's land.
It would behoove us to learn from past mistakes and not farm land that is not meant to be farmed. It would be wise for our government to eliminate subsidies for programs that produce little benefit, encourage a misuse of the land and place us in a position that could lead to another environmental disaster.
In short, it would be beneficial for us as a country to learn from our own not-too-distant history.
Sanctification Through Planned Neglect
"The more you study the Word of God, the more it saturates your mind and life. Someone is reported to have asked a concert violinist in New York's Carnegie Hall how she became so skilled. She said it was by "planned neglect". She planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal.
Some less important things in your life could stand some planned neglect so that you might give yourself to studying the Word of God." - John MacArthur, Found: God's Will
Nearing Home - Book Review
Billy Graham is known the world over for his decades of preaching the Word of God to millions of people during thousands of sermons delivered at small revival tents, large churches and arenas and stadiums filled to capacity. He has offered advice and counsel to Presidents and has become an icon of modern Christianity. In his book "Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well
, Mr. Graham takes a look back at the life he has lived and offers advice and encouragement to readers young and old.
Being in my mid-thirties, I am certain that I do not fit the target demographic for this book. I do not doubt that many of my peers would not pick up this book to read it, when there are so many other books on the shelf that are being written by the current group of up-and-coming, popular, mostly young pastors and theologians. While this is understandable, and there is a lot of great content being generated by that group, it is unfortunate that the words of a man who has lived a life dedicated to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ might be overlooked.
In this book, we get to hear the heart of a man who is fondly recalling not only events in his life but one who is also pleading for others to learn from his own mistakes. We get to hear the humility of a man who fully understands that he is far from perfect, but knows that he is loved by God. We get a glimpse into the frailty that comes with age and the heartache that is generated by the loss of so many loved ones. We get to see a man who is calling us all to live in the here and now, fighting our sinful nature and sharing hope with the world, all the while anticipating the joy that will come when we are called home to Heaven.
I would encourage anyone at any age to read this book. While it is geared more toward the older generation, there are many wonderful sections that are directly applicable to people of all ages. For those of you who, like myself, do not have a grandfather to listen to share the Biblical wisdom they have gained through their life experience, I would wholeheartedly recommend taking a couple of hours to read through what Mr. Graham has penned.
A Brief Excerpt:
, Mr. Graham takes a look back at the life he has lived and offers advice and encouragement to readers young and old.Being in my mid-thirties, I am certain that I do not fit the target demographic for this book. I do not doubt that many of my peers would not pick up this book to read it, when there are so many other books on the shelf that are being written by the current group of up-and-coming, popular, mostly young pastors and theologians. While this is understandable, and there is a lot of great content being generated by that group, it is unfortunate that the words of a man who has lived a life dedicated to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ might be overlooked.
In this book, we get to hear the heart of a man who is fondly recalling not only events in his life but one who is also pleading for others to learn from his own mistakes. We get to hear the humility of a man who fully understands that he is far from perfect, but knows that he is loved by God. We get a glimpse into the frailty that comes with age and the heartache that is generated by the loss of so many loved ones. We get to see a man who is calling us all to live in the here and now, fighting our sinful nature and sharing hope with the world, all the while anticipating the joy that will come when we are called home to Heaven.
I would encourage anyone at any age to read this book. While it is geared more toward the older generation, there are many wonderful sections that are directly applicable to people of all ages. For those of you who, like myself, do not have a grandfather to listen to share the Biblical wisdom they have gained through their life experience, I would wholeheartedly recommend taking a couple of hours to read through what Mr. Graham has penned.
A Brief Excerpt:
We Meet to Meet
"When an organization has more of its decisions made by committees, that
gives more influence to those who have more time available to attend
committee meetings and to drag out each meeting longer. In other words,
it reduces the influence of those who have work to do, and are doing it,
while making those who are less productive more influential." - Thomas Sowell
I have found this to be incredibly true.
If you look around your company, you can probably identify several people who seem to be on all sorts of project teams or committees or groups or whatever they may be called at your place of employment.
The natural response to recognizing this fact is usually "How do they have time for all of that?".
The answer to that question is quite simple: they either don't have enough work to do or they don't do the work they are supposed to do, usually pushing it off onto other people.
The sad thing is that managers love to see people who are "great team members" running from meeting to meeting to meeting and are so busy. Although they might never accomplish a single thing of significant value, the effort and time involved in those meetings is valued far greater than the value of the person with his head down in the cubicle cranking out work that adds to the bottom line of the company. In fact, more often times than not, the person in the cube is also carrying the workload of the meeting monster next door.
It's a shame that managers who love to meet for the sake of meeting breed people who meet for the same reason. Meetings do not get work done. While it is useful to pull groups together from time to time to strategize how the workload will get completed, most meetings that are on the schedules of many employees are not helpful and add little, if any, value to the bottom line of the company.
So managers - Kill the meetings and get back to allowing your employees to do some real work. Hold your employees equally accountable for the work that they are accomplishing, not the work they are talking about doing someday.
That is what the employee in the cubicle would love to tell you.
I have found this to be incredibly true.
If you look around your company, you can probably identify several people who seem to be on all sorts of project teams or committees or groups or whatever they may be called at your place of employment.
The natural response to recognizing this fact is usually "How do they have time for all of that?".
The answer to that question is quite simple: they either don't have enough work to do or they don't do the work they are supposed to do, usually pushing it off onto other people.
The sad thing is that managers love to see people who are "great team members" running from meeting to meeting to meeting and are so busy. Although they might never accomplish a single thing of significant value, the effort and time involved in those meetings is valued far greater than the value of the person with his head down in the cubicle cranking out work that adds to the bottom line of the company. In fact, more often times than not, the person in the cube is also carrying the workload of the meeting monster next door.
It's a shame that managers who love to meet for the sake of meeting breed people who meet for the same reason. Meetings do not get work done. While it is useful to pull groups together from time to time to strategize how the workload will get completed, most meetings that are on the schedules of many employees are not helpful and add little, if any, value to the bottom line of the company.
So managers - Kill the meetings and get back to allowing your employees to do some real work. Hold your employees equally accountable for the work that they are accomplishing, not the work they are talking about doing someday.
That is what the employee in the cubicle would love to tell you.
Our Current Position Visualized
This was the front page on CNN this morning and I couldn't resist capturing it and posting it here.
To me, this is a perfect example of what is wrong with our economy and country right now.
Warning: Generalized statements are about to be made which may not be true for all parties involved.
Standing for Nothing
There is a group of people who feel entitled to something without doing anything, or whatever it is they want. (see Occupy Something)
Speaking for Nothing
There is a group of wealthy people who feel that government should place even more of the burden on the rich. The fact that this call is now also coming from a couple dozen wealthier people does not change the fact that it is just another call to redistribute wealth. The fact that Warren Buffet is being used to champion this idea is simply ludicrous. (Buffet has sheltered his wealth from Federal Taxes and has admitted that he thinks the government would not handle the money as effectively and efficiently as a private organization.)
If the wealthy are so concerned with how much they have, they should stop making so much profit (money) or start giving a lot more of it away. This is their personal problem and not the government's problem. If they truly were struggling to sleep at night because they honestly believed that they had too much money and that it could be used to aid other people who desperately need it, they would have already set into motion the actions required to reconcile that conviction on their own. There is no role for the government required here. Thus, it is a cheap political stunt.
Neither of these groups represent a majority opinion. Far from it.
How did we end up here?
Our government has adopted the strategy of the one offered by the company to the right of the page. Spend what you do not have now, pay off less than the interest later and at some point down the line you will realize you are in way over your head and you will desperately need to change your behavior. However, like most Americans, our government refuses to change its spending behaviors, even after after the cost of continuing down the same road become patently clear and the outcome unavoidable.
How do I think we get out of this mess?
- We stop catering to the minority of the population who screams the loudest. We stop handling them with soft gloves. If you want to protest anything, you need to do it within the bounds of the law. If you go beyond the law, then you should have the entirety of that law brought to bear against you and the organization you claim to represent.
- We need to stop listening to people who claim to offer solutions that appear selfless, when the reality is that their "solution" will not solve the problem. In fact, their path only leads to people other than themselves having more money taken away from them, thus increasing the gap between the ultra-rich and the wealthy.
- We stop spending money we do not have. We force our government to work for us, as it was intended. I do not work in order to pay for a government program. I work in order to have the ability to provide for my family's current and future needs. I am planning for my own future, as best as I can. It would be a lot easier for me if the government that is charged with protecting me woudl stop attacking me financially.
- We stop putting people in positions of power that cannot balance a budget. If you cannot run a household or business without going into debt, we do not need you attempting to guide the country. If you cannot run an election campaign without bungling your finances, we don't need you "helping" solve the crisis we have placed ourselves in as a nation.
- We stop electing people because they seem nice or energetic or young or whatever. We need to elect good, strong people to lead this country in a new direction. We need politicians who see it as being allowed to offer their services to their country and fellow citizens for a season, instead of having politicians who see it as the ultimate SWAG party and ridiculous retirement plan.
- We need to stop electing non-representatives. You work for me as well as the guy who disagrees with me. I am a fellow citizen of yours, just like he is - we are not just your constituents. You answer to me, even when you don't want to. If you make a choice that I find different from my desire, I have the right to express that opinion, regardless of how it might make you feel. If you do not want to hear the opinions of those that you claim to represent, then you have no right to claim to be their representative.
- We need to throw political correctness and sensitivity in the trash can. At the moment, there is very little room in political discourse for us to skirt around certain issues on our tippy toes because you or one of your lobbyist friends might take offense. Please be offended. Be offended that it took so long for you to feel or recognize how poorly you have done your job. Be offended at the fact that many of your actions have led us to this place. If you are too sensitive to deal with these very real, very large issues without getting your feathers ruffled through a lively, boisterous and heated debate, then there is no place for you in politics. Go home and cry in your bed for a while - the country will be better off with you there. This isn't to say that we should be hateful or disrespectful, but we should get fired up about what you are and are not doing with and to our country. That is patriotic. If you cannot handle grown up conversation in a real world that isn't filled with fairies and color-blindness, then you should go write children's stories and not attempt to tell us what stories we can and should read to our children.
- See Why I Think America is in Deep Trouble
Sorry about the length of this post. I got a bit carried away here. It started out as a quick picture and ended with me getting all riled up. I do not apologize for my convictions nor my vocalization of those beliefs, merely for the length of the content.
I hate politics as they are and dream of how I think they could be.
There are so many people on both sides of the aisle that do not deserve to be called representatives or leaders of our country. I am hoping that real world Americans begin to be better represented in the Washington DC.
That starts with you in the voting booth.
Get informed.
Get fired up.
Get represented.
Get America back on track.
To me, this is a perfect example of what is wrong with our economy and country right now.
Warning: Generalized statements are about to be made which may not be true for all parties involved.
Standing for Nothing
There is a group of people who feel entitled to something without doing anything, or whatever it is they want. (see Occupy Something)
Speaking for Nothing
There is a group of wealthy people who feel that government should place even more of the burden on the rich. The fact that this call is now also coming from a couple dozen wealthier people does not change the fact that it is just another call to redistribute wealth. The fact that Warren Buffet is being used to champion this idea is simply ludicrous. (Buffet has sheltered his wealth from Federal Taxes and has admitted that he thinks the government would not handle the money as effectively and efficiently as a private organization.)
If the wealthy are so concerned with how much they have, they should stop making so much profit (money) or start giving a lot more of it away. This is their personal problem and not the government's problem. If they truly were struggling to sleep at night because they honestly believed that they had too much money and that it could be used to aid other people who desperately need it, they would have already set into motion the actions required to reconcile that conviction on their own. There is no role for the government required here. Thus, it is a cheap political stunt.
Neither of these groups represent a majority opinion. Far from it.
How did we end up here?
Our government has adopted the strategy of the one offered by the company to the right of the page. Spend what you do not have now, pay off less than the interest later and at some point down the line you will realize you are in way over your head and you will desperately need to change your behavior. However, like most Americans, our government refuses to change its spending behaviors, even after after the cost of continuing down the same road become patently clear and the outcome unavoidable.
How do I think we get out of this mess?
- We stop catering to the minority of the population who screams the loudest. We stop handling them with soft gloves. If you want to protest anything, you need to do it within the bounds of the law. If you go beyond the law, then you should have the entirety of that law brought to bear against you and the organization you claim to represent.
- We need to stop listening to people who claim to offer solutions that appear selfless, when the reality is that their "solution" will not solve the problem. In fact, their path only leads to people other than themselves having more money taken away from them, thus increasing the gap between the ultra-rich and the wealthy.
- We stop spending money we do not have. We force our government to work for us, as it was intended. I do not work in order to pay for a government program. I work in order to have the ability to provide for my family's current and future needs. I am planning for my own future, as best as I can. It would be a lot easier for me if the government that is charged with protecting me woudl stop attacking me financially.
- We stop putting people in positions of power that cannot balance a budget. If you cannot run a household or business without going into debt, we do not need you attempting to guide the country. If you cannot run an election campaign without bungling your finances, we don't need you "helping" solve the crisis we have placed ourselves in as a nation.
- We stop electing people because they seem nice or energetic or young or whatever. We need to elect good, strong people to lead this country in a new direction. We need politicians who see it as being allowed to offer their services to their country and fellow citizens for a season, instead of having politicians who see it as the ultimate SWAG party and ridiculous retirement plan.
- We need to stop electing non-representatives. You work for me as well as the guy who disagrees with me. I am a fellow citizen of yours, just like he is - we are not just your constituents. You answer to me, even when you don't want to. If you make a choice that I find different from my desire, I have the right to express that opinion, regardless of how it might make you feel. If you do not want to hear the opinions of those that you claim to represent, then you have no right to claim to be their representative.
- We need to throw political correctness and sensitivity in the trash can. At the moment, there is very little room in political discourse for us to skirt around certain issues on our tippy toes because you or one of your lobbyist friends might take offense. Please be offended. Be offended that it took so long for you to feel or recognize how poorly you have done your job. Be offended at the fact that many of your actions have led us to this place. If you are too sensitive to deal with these very real, very large issues without getting your feathers ruffled through a lively, boisterous and heated debate, then there is no place for you in politics. Go home and cry in your bed for a while - the country will be better off with you there. This isn't to say that we should be hateful or disrespectful, but we should get fired up about what you are and are not doing with and to our country. That is patriotic. If you cannot handle grown up conversation in a real world that isn't filled with fairies and color-blindness, then you should go write children's stories and not attempt to tell us what stories we can and should read to our children.
- See Why I Think America is in Deep Trouble
Sorry about the length of this post. I got a bit carried away here. It started out as a quick picture and ended with me getting all riled up. I do not apologize for my convictions nor my vocalization of those beliefs, merely for the length of the content.
I hate politics as they are and dream of how I think they could be.
There are so many people on both sides of the aisle that do not deserve to be called representatives or leaders of our country. I am hoping that real world Americans begin to be better represented in the Washington DC.
That starts with you in the voting booth.
Get informed.
Get fired up.
Get represented.
Get America back on track.
I Don't Want to Hear You
This morning I thought of the following quote from the wonderful film Cinema Paradiso
:
If you have never seen Cinema Paradiso, I would recommend you change that.
:Yes, there is a particular reason why this quote came to my mind, but I don't feel like sharing it.Alfredo: Get out of here! Go back to Rome. You're young and the world is yours. I'm old. I don't want to hear you talk anymore. I want to hear others talking about you. Don't come back.
Salvatore: Thank you. For everything you've done for me.
Alfredo: Whatever you end up doing, love it. The way you loved the projection booth when you were a little squirt.
If you have never seen Cinema Paradiso, I would recommend you change that.
How to Change Your Marriage
Love these points from counselor Winston Smith:
"Marriage is the sum of both people's actions. It's not just about what one person is doing. So really, anytime one person changes, the marriage itself is going to change."
"If your going to hang in there in marriage and you are going to see growth, you have to understand, you have to be convinced that 'my actions make a difference' that 'my marriage can be better if I am willing to put the effort into it and I am willing to look at myself to see how I need to change and how I need to grow'".
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